War Never Changes
by Knope.We.Can
Summary: Chloe enters the Commonwealth after an unknown amount of time in Vault 111. After her life is saved by the slightly bad-tempered Beca, the pair set out on their journey to Diamond City to find Chloe's missing daughter. Bechloe/Fallout AU. Rated M for language and occasional violence. Set in the Fallout 4 universe and will have some crossovers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So anyone who follows me on tumblr knows I've been toying with the idea of writing a Bechloe/Fallout AU. Well, here is chapter 1!**

 **I didn't plan on getting back into fanfic for a while but the idea stuck with me and I had to write it. It's been a while since I felt that need to write a story so I figured I shouldn't try and fight it :P**

 **Anyway, this fic is set in the Fallout 4 universe and the story will be similar to the games storyline, but for the most part I'll try and make it my own thing.**

 **I don't know how big of an audience this fic will have, but I'm enjoying writing it so far :)**

 **Please review and let me know what you think, or hit me up on tumblr (username is massivedrickhead)**

 **As usual, I don't own Pitch Perfect or its characters and I don't own Fallout or its characters.**

* * *

 _I shouldn't have left the vault._

That thought kept buzzing around Chloe's head as she finally succeeded in killing the rabid dog that was attacking her.

She hadn't be outside for long before being attacked, and she was seriously tempted to go back.

Sure, it was creepy, quiet, had no food, water, or medicine, was full of dead bodies and rad-roaches, but at least she was safe from attack there.

She wasn't sure what she had expected when leaving the vault.

She didn't even know how long she'd been down there. All she knew was the bomb went off as they were being lowered into the shelter. She doesn't think she'll ever forget the screams of those who were left outside. Her baby daughter Emily was in her arms as they were then ushered into what they were told were decontamination pods and then... Nothing. At some point she remembers there being a struggle and then nothing she woke up she was alone in the vault. Emily was nowhere to be seen.

 _I shouldn't have left the vault._

The bite on Chloe's arm was still bleeding heavily, and she wasn't sure where she was heading. She had been retracing the steps to her old house but when she got there, there was no house. Her whole neighborhood had gone. Grass had grown where houses once stood. It felt like yesterday when she was here last. In her comfortable house with her daughter. And now...

She thought about going back to the vault for safety but there was nothing there for her.

The only thing she could do was to carry on walking, in the hope of finding someone who could help her.

As she walked she thought about Emily. The thought of trying to find her was overwhelming. She could be anywhere. With anyone.

The sun was just beginning to set when she heard growling again. She didn't even have time to aim her gun before she was pinned to the ground by another dog. It was much bigger than the last one. Its claws digging in to her arms as she tried desperately to stop it biting her. Its jaws were snapping, centimeters from her face.

A bright red light shot into the dog and it cowered, letting Chloe go. Two more shots were fired and the dog stopped barking.

She tried to get up but the pain had become too much. The previous bite was still bleeding and now she had several other cuts on her arms.

Whoever it was that had killed the dog had began walking towards her. They were wearing a full suit of power armor, so Chloe had no idea who they were or what they looked like. They stood over her, and Chloe felt afraid again. She tried to reach the gun that had been knocked out of her hand by the dog. Just has her fingertips had brushed against the metal of the gun, the person above her kicked it away.

Blood was still pooling around her arm and she was starting to get lightheaded. She'd been walking all day, without eating or drinking.

 _I shouldn't have left the vault._

They bent down and touched her arm, inspecting the bite.

"Please," Chloe said, her voice trembling, "don't hurt me."

"I won't," a soft, female voice replied. She felt herself get lifted off the ground as she passed out.

* * *

Chloe woke up when she felt something nudging her. She opened her eyes and saw a dog, nudging her with its head. Chloe felt a surge of panic. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a gun lying beside the mattress she was on. She grabbed it and aimed it at the dog.

The dog cowered, its tail between its legs, and whimpered slightly.

"Don't shoot my dog," the soft voice from before said. This time it wasn't muffled by the large helmet. She looked and saw a girl around her age, maybe slightly younger, with long brown, slightly curled hair, and deep blue eyes. "Dogmeat, come here boy."

The dog moved away from Chloe and went over to the girl, letting her stroke him behind the ear.

Chloe still didn't lower the gun. She felt sick and confused and afraid. Her arms had been bandaged but still hurt. She then noticed there was an IV in her arm, attached to what looked like a blood-bag, except that the contents was orange. It looked like RadAway. They used it all the time before the war to treat radiation poisoning.

"You know how to use that?" The girl said, nodding towards the gun, her arms crossed against her chest. Chloe nodded. "They teach you that in the vault?"

Chloe's brow furrowed for a second until she realised she was still in her blue Vault-Tec jumpsuit.

"Who are you?" Chloe asked, her throat dry and voice slightly croaky.

"I'm Beca," she said. "Beca Mitchell. I'm the person who saved your ass about an hour ago. Why don't you put the gun down?" Chloe hesitated and Beca sighed. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But you're injured,you're dehydrated and it looks like you've got radiation sickness. Why don't you let me help?"

"Why do you want to?"

"What's your name?" Beca asked.

"Chloe," she said.

"Chloe," Beca said, "there is a lot of shit in the Commonwealth. A lot of bad people. A lot of bad creatures. I want to be one of the good guys."

Chloe lowered her gun. "Okay," she said.

"You'll let me help?" Beca asked. Chloe nodded. "Good." She grabbed some things from a box near the mattress Chloe was on. "Hold still a sec." She took Chloe's arm and stuck a syringe-like object in it.

"What is that?" Chloe asked, wincing.

"Just a stimpak," Beca said. Chloe began feeling better. Beca reached out and swept the hair from Chloe's face, feeling her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Chloe said.

"Still feeling sick?" Beca asked. Chloe shook her head. "You got some radiation poisoning from that dog. You should be okay now." She removed the drip from Chloe's arm, before handing her a can filled with water. "It's safe." She said, sensing Chloe's hesitance.

Chloe drank it quickly. "Thank you," she said.

"No problem," Beca said, smiling for the first time. The smile was genuine and slightly shy. Like she wasn't used to doing it. It made Chloe smile back.

 _Thank god I left the vault._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Here's chapter 2 buddies!**

 **Please please please review, I could really do with some feedback on this fic :)**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their respective characters**

* * *

"What is this place?" Chloe asked, looking around her. She was on a mattress in what looked like a workshop. There were several work benches, and a stand holding up a suit of power armor. Other people were in there, cooking and crafting.

"Sanctuary," Beca said, smiling again. "I found this place a few years ago, and helped rebuild it with a group of really good people. We set up water pumps, a place to grow food, we rebuilt walls, built defenses, took back a whole neighborhood, really. Traders started coming through, bringing us medicine and weapons and ammunition and we gave them water and food in return."

"That sounds amazing," Chloe said, watching as Beca's eyes lit up as she talked. "I remember before the war, people didn't have that sense of community." Beca's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean before the war?" Beca asked. "How would you know?"

"Uh, I was alive?" Chloe asked.

"Chloe... How long do you think you've been in the vault?" Beca asked. Chloe began getting a nervous feeling in her stomach.

"I... I don't know? We went down the day they dropped the bomb," Chloe asked. "Why?"

"That was 210 years ago, Chloe," Beca said.

"No... No it was..." Chloe trailed off, trying to remember. She thought about the bodies that were in the vault with her. They were skeletons. _How long does it take for a body to turn totally decompose? And how had they died?_ She thought back to the day they entered the vault. Those decontamination pods...

 _ **"Please step into the tube, miss," one of the Vault-Tec employees said, gesturing to the pods.**_

 _ **"What is it?" Chloe asked, afraid, clutching Emily to her.**_

 _ **"Just decontamination," they said. "It will only take a few minutes."**_

 _ **"Okay," Chloe said. She could almost hear her heart pounding as the pod closed around her. She heard a noise and then everything went dark.**_

"Cryogenics..." She said.

"Holy shit," Beca said. "I've heard that that happened in some of the vaults. But I thought everyone in those experiments had died. You didn't know that was going to happen?

"No," Chloe said. "Tom... My boyfriend, Emily's dad, he was in the army. He was killed during a training exercise. As a form of compensation, we were given a space in the vault. It was supposed to be for a few months. I went into the pod and then... I didn't know it had been so long," Chloe said, tears filling her eyes.

"Come on," Beca said, taking her hand and helping her up from the mattress. "There's a spare bedroom back here, we can get some privacy." She could see Chloe was getting upset, so she lead her down a hallway and then into a bedroom. Chloe sat down on the bed and Beca pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

"Emily, my daughter, was with me," Chloe said, her voice straining from the effort it took to not cry. "She was ten months old. I don't know when but someone took her. I remember the pod opened... I didn't know how much time had passed, it felt like seconds. They took her out of my arms and then sealed me back up. I... I don't know why." She started crying. "I don't know where she is."

Beca sat on the edge of the bed and put her arm around her shoulders.

"I'm really sorry Chloe," Beca said.

"I need to find her," Chloe said, sniffing and wiping her eyes.

Beca didn't want to say that the chances of her daughter being alive were low. She didn't want to say that it could have been hundreds of years ago that she was taken. She didn't want to say that surviving in the wasteland was brutally difficult for the most ruthless of people, let alone a child.

So, instead, she said, "okay." She said, "I'll help you."

* * *

Chloe fell asleep not long after, Dogmeat lying by the doorway to guard her.

After briefly looking in on her, Beca returned to the workshop and carried on working on her power armor.

"What's the deal with that girl?" Her friend Stacie asked.

"Yeah, is she really a vault-dweller?" Fat Amy, another friend, asked.

"She is," Beca said, wiping her oil-covered hands on her shirt. "I'm taking her to Diamond City tomorrow. She's looking for her daughter."

"You're leaving?" Aubrey asked. Aubrey was probably the person Beca was closest to at Sanctuary. She had blonde hair with fierce green eyes. She was tough and she didn't take shit but she was also passionate and cared a lot about her friends and fellow settlers.

She was the one who'd found Beca wandering the Commonwealth, with only a bat, a pipe-pistol, and a dog. Almost delirious from dehydration and hunger. She was injured but wouldn't speak about it.

Aubrey had brought her back to what was then just a decrepit house, cleaned her up and eventually coaxed her into talking about what had happened.

She told the story once, and then never again. They didn't speak about it.

"It won't be for long," Beca said, sensing Aubrey's unease.

Aubrey nodded, but she didn't like it. She got nervous whenever any of her friends left the settlement, but most of all Beca. She knew she could handle herself better than most. She was tough, she was a good fighter, and she could shoot well. But she was small. She looked vulnerable. Raiders tended to target the vulnerable.

"Take the power armor with you," Aubrey said. Beca shook her head.

"You guys need it," Beca said.

"Beca-"

"If raiders or super-mutants turn up, you're gonna need it. Trust me," Beca said.

"And when you run into them on the way to Diamond City?" Aubrey asked, her hand on her stomach. Aubrey tended to vomit when she was really stressed.

"I can run away, can't I?" Beca said putting her hand on Aubrey's arm to reassure her. "If they turn up here you guys need to defend it."

"I don't like this Beca," Aubrey said.

"I know you don't. But I have to help her."

"Make sure you get some rest then," Aubrey said, before heading into one of the bedrooms and closing the door.

Beca sighed before putting away her tools. She checked their supplies and set about pumping and then purifying some water. They would need to take some with them and she didn't want to leave the settlement short.

Eventually she went into one of the bedrooms and fell into an uneasy sleep.

She didn't like leaving Sanctuary for more than a few hours.

She had nightmares all night filled with the monsters of the wasteland.

Gangs of raiders featured prominently. They always did.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Once again I'm gonna beg you all for reviews and feedback :P**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Beca woke up, her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat for a few seconds. Her hands shaking.

"You get nightmares?"

She looked up to see Chloe standing in the doorway. Dogmeat moved past her so he could rest his head on Beca's knee. She scratched him behind the ear.

"Yeah," Beca said, grabbing her shirt from the back of the chair and pulling it on over her t-shirt. "Sometimes."

Chloe looked like she wanted to ask her more, but Beca stood up and moved past her to the workshop before she had the chance. She didn't want to talk about them.

"Becs, are you sure about this?" Aubrey asked her as Beca began filling a bag with supplies.

"Yep," Beca said, trying to shake off the tension she was feeling.

"You don't have to come with me," Chloe said as she entered the workshop.

"Yeah, I do," Beca said.

"Just... Point me in the right direction," Chloe said. There was a definite change in the way Beca was acting compared to last night and she didn't like that she was probably the cause of it.

"Okay, why don't we run through a list of the things that can, and probably will, kill you?" Beca said, moving away from the bag and facing Chloe directly.

"Beca," Aubrey said in a warning voice. She knew the tiny brunette had a temper in the mornings, usually due to the fact that she never got more than a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. She woke up a lot during the night because of nightmares, and the rest of the settlers in Sanctuary had learned to give her a wide birth during the mornings. Chloe didn't know this yet.

"Number one," Beca said, ignoring Aubrey, "raiders. Then you've got super-mutants. Then there's feral ghouls. Institute synths. Deathclaws. Even a fucking pack of dogs can kill you, as you almost found out yesterday."

Chloe's eyes had dropped to the ground and Beca felt a wave of guilt.

"Sorry," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I didn't mean to snap. Those nightmares I got last night... They... It doesn't matter. I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

"I can handle myself," Chloe said, softly.

"I'm sure you can," Beca said, the harshness gone from her voice. "But it's seriously dangerous out there. I couldn't live with myself if I sent you out alone."

"If you're sure," Chloe said, giving her a small smile. "Thank you."

"Here," Beca handed her a gun. "It's a laser pistol. Does a lot more damage than that one you had yesterday."

Chloe nodded, taking it.

She then strapped some leather armor onto her chest, arms and legs. She gave some to Chloe, helping her fasten them over her jumpsuit.

Beca hoisted a backpack onto her shoulders and tucked a gun into the holster on her left leg. She also picked up a metal baseball bat, with barbed-wire wrapped around it.

"Ready?" Beca asked Chloe.

"Yeah," Chloe said.

"Take care of yourself," Aubrey said, pulling Beca into a hug. Beca dropped her bat so she could hug her back, her hands gripping Aubrey's shirt. She wasn't a hugger by nature, but she made the exception with Aubrey. At the end of the hug, the blonde pressed a flare gun into her hand. "If you get into trouble, use this." Beca tried to give it back.

"If the settlement's attacked-"

"We have the radio tower. We can get in touch with the Minutemen with that. Please take the flare gun, Beca," Aubrey said.

"Okay," Beca said. "I'll see you soon." She put the flare gun in her other holster, picked up her bat, and turned to Chloe. "Let's go."

Beca looked at the Pip-Boy on her arm and checked her map. They began walking south. Beca whistled once and soon Dogmeat was at her side, his tail wagging. "Didn't think I'd leave you behind, did you boy?"

* * *

They walked in silence for a while. Chloe was too nervous to talk in case she drew attention to them. Beca was trying to pretend she wasn't as afraid as she was, so kept her mouth shut, worried her voice might shake if she spoke.

"Why Diamond City?" Chloe asked, as they stopped for a rest and some food at an abandoned gas station. Beca had searched every inch of the place for supplies after being sure there was no one else there.

"A friend of mine works there," Beca said. "Nick Valentine. He's a synth and happens to be the best detective in the Commonwealth. Maybe the only detective in the Commonwealth. He is the go to guy for finding missing people."

"How do you know him?" Chloe asked.

"My Mom and I lived in Diamond City for a while. Nick was our friend," Beca said. She opened up a can of purified water and split it with Chloe. "A lot of people don't trust him because he's a synth, but it never bothered me and my mom, so we spent a lot of time with him."

"Where's your mom now?" Chloe asked. Beca shook her head.

"It's... It's not an easy story to tell," Beca said. "We should get going. We need to reach somewhere to hold up before it gets dark. We don't want to be wandering out here at night."

"Okay," Chloe said.

"Tell me about what you did before the war," Beca asked, keen to move the conversation on. They left the gas station and kept walking.

"It seems dumb now," Chloe said. "But I was a singing teacher."

"That doesn't seem dumb," Beca said.

"It isn't really a useful skill, is it?" Chloe asked. "It's not going to help me survive out here."

"That doesn't matter," Beca said. "You enjoyed it, right?"

"I loved it."

"People don't get to do what they love anymore. Not for over 200 years. It's so cool that you were alive in a time where people could do that. I can't imagine what it must have been like back then," Beca said.

"We didn't realise how lucky we were. I mean, there was a war going on but we still had homes. We had running water and food," Chloe said. In her mind, it was like two days ago, but so much had happened that she could barely remember what it was like before. "I feel like this is some kind of dream. It's like I fell asleep before they told me Tom had been killed and soon I'm gonna wake up and things are going to be back to normal."

"I've grown up in this world," Beca said. "This is normal to me. Fighting to survive. I think I learned how to shoot a gun before I could properly walk."

"Sounds tough," Chloe said. She thought of Emily again, and how hard it must have been on Beca's mother, trying to keep them both alive.

"I don't know any different," Beca said. "It must be weird for you."

"I'm still trying to get my head around it," Chloe said.

It was almost sunset. They were walking through a town when Dogmeat began growling, a low, menacing growl.

"Easy, boy," Beca said, taking her gun out. Chloe did the same, her hands shaking. "Walk slowly and quietly," Beca whispered to Chloe as they made their way past the buildings.

Beca had wanted to avoid the town, not go through it. Towns usually meant raiders. But there was no way around it. If they wanted to cross the river without wading through it, then they needed to get to the bridge. The only way onto the bridge, was through the town. Wading wasn't an option without the power-armor. Water meant radiation. And lots of it.

Soon they'd crossed the bridge and reached the outskirts of the town. The buildings became a lot more spaced out, and they settled on a house that was the furthest away from the others.

Beca couldn't hear voices coming from the house and there were no fires inside or out. There was also no one guarding the door. That meant there was probably no raiders or super-mutants inside. But that didn't necessarily mean they were alone.

"If I say run," Beca whispered, "run."

There was a metal chain link fence surrounding the house. She took her bat and hit the fence hard, the sound echoing around them.

She waited. Listening.

Dogmeat started growling again.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/followed/favourited so far! Please keep those reviews coming, they keep me motivated :)**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Seconds later, a feral ghoul starting running towards them, followed by a second, and then a third.

"Go for their legs!" Beca said, backing away quickly.

Dogmeat began attacking the ghouls, as Beca and Chloe started firing.

Bursts of red light left their weapons and hit the ghouls in the legs. They shrieked and flailed their arms, trying to hit them.

Beca managed to incapacitate two, Chloe getting the third.

They were still crawling towards them as Beca held up her hand to get Chloe to stop. They needed to save their ammo.

"Good job," Beca said, bringing her bat down on three separate heads.

They slowly moved into the building, checking each room. There was one more in a bathroom which Beca managed to dispatch quickly with her bat. It took a swipe at her before it died, and not long after Beca felt the familiar sickness she associated with radiation. But according to her pip-boy, it wasn't enough to really hurt her. She closed the door to the bathroom, and met Chloe in the hallway.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked, her voice just above a whisper. Beca nodded.

She was sweating and her heart was racing as they made their way downstairs. Her hands shook from adrenaline but she felt okay. She could handle ghouls.

"Okay?" Beca asked.

"Yeah," Chloe said, slightly out of breath, genuinely frightened. The zombie-like creatures had unnerved her. They were like something from a nightmare. "What were they?"

"Ghouls," Beca said as they set up camp in the living room downstairs. They wanted to be close to the door so they could make a quick exit if they needed too. "Or, Feral Ghouls to be more accurate. They're from before the war, only they weren't lucky enough to be in vaults or shelters. The radiation disfigured them, and basically made them live forever. And seriously messed with their brains and made them... Mindless, I guess would be the right word. Mindless and angry. But not all ghouls are like that. Some of them are totally normal except for their lifespan and the way they look. There's a lot of discrimination around."

"I've got so much to learn," Chloe said, shaking her head as she tried to take it all in.

"I'll help you," Beca said, feeling calmer now they had a place to stay. Beca had set up some tin can chimes outside the building so they would hear if anyone approached it. They'd also agreed to sleep in shifts. "You should get some rest," she said. Chloe lay down on the sofa they were sitting on, using Beca's bag as a pillow.

"This is lumpy," Chloe mumbled.

"Well, cans of food mixed with ammunition tend to be lumpy," Beca said, smirking slightly. "Not to mention the grenades."

Chloe froze. She sat up slowly and handed the bag to Beca, frightened it would explode at any moment. Beca laughed and took it from her.

Chloe tossed and turned trying to get comfortable, accidentally kicking Beca's arm in the process.

"Jeez, you fidget a lot, don't you?" Beca asked, rubbing her arm.

"Sorry," Chloe said. "I'm not a good sleeper."

"You slept okay yesterday," Beca said.

"Yesterday I had a pillow," Chloe replied.

Beca sighed. "Fine," she said. "Come here."

"What do you mean?"

Beca patted her lap.

"You can use me as a pillow, just don't tell Aubrey," Beca said, smirking at the look of joy on Chloe's face. "She'll never let me live it down."

"Beca Mitchell, I knew you'd be a cuddler the day I met you," Chloe said, gladly using Beca as her pillow.

"Well you spent a lot of that day unconscious so I wouldn't hold much stock in that," Beca said, blushing as Chloe made herself comfortable.

She felt something stirring in her chest.

 _No. Absolutely not._

Her head said.

 _Get this shit under control._

Beca shook her head slightly. This was not the time or the place for those kinds of thoughts. And anyway, Chloe had a daughter. She'd had a boyfriend in the past. Probably, many of them. She was an attractive girl. She was sweet. She was-

 _Stop. It._

She was straight.

Probably, straight.

 _And even if she wasn't, why would she be interested in me?_

She shook her head again, and tried to focus on something else, so she started making a mental inventory of all their supplies.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been doing it before she realised she had been dosing off slightly, and cursed herself for it.

She looked at her pip-boy and checked the time. It would be dawn in around four hours. She shook Chloe awake.

"Five more minutes," the redhead mumbled.

"It's your watch," Beca said.

"M'kay," Chloe replied, sleepily. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and brushed the hair from her face. "You're comfy."

"Don't get used to it," Beca said, lying with her head on the arm of the sofa.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked.

"Sleeping," Beca replied.

Chloe took her arm and pulled her so she was sitting up.

"Dude," Beca moaned. "It's my turn."

Chloe pulled her again, this time so she was using Chloe as a pillow, the same way Chloe had used her.

"Oh," Beca said, feeling herself blush again. "You don't have to do this."

"I know," Chloe replied. She began absentmindedly playing with Beca's hair.

God, Beca thought, as she felt herself drift off. She's going to kill me.

With Beca asleep, Chloe became aware of how completely vulnerable she felt.

Every creek the house made, every noise from outside, set her on edge. She wanted to close her eyes and hide until morning, but she knew she had to be vigilant. It was up to her to keep them alive for now.

About an hour before dawn, and the sky was beginning to lighten.

Chloe felt relief flood through her. Soon she could wake Beca up and they'd complete their journey to Diamond City. She was looking forward to being somewhere safe. Somewhere with walls and defenses.

The sun was just beginning to peak when she suddenly felt Beca tense. Her hands were gripping the fabric of Chloe's shirt and her brow furrowed.

She squeezed her eyes closed tighter, and a tear ran down her cheek.

"Beca," Chloe said, softly shaking her. "Wake up."

Beca froze, before slowly releasing Chloe's shirt.

"Sorry," Beca mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"That's okay," Chloe said. Beca ran a hand through her hair as her leg shook slightly. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No," Beca said, trying not to direct her anger at Chloe. "Thank you, though."

"You really don't do mornings, huh?" Chloe asked, causing Beca to laugh slightly.

"I guess not," she said, finally turning to look at Chloe. "The nightmares I get are pretty shitty. It can be hard to shake them off sometimes."

"You don't have to explain yourself," Chloe said. "Just know that if you want to talk about them, or anything else, you can."

"Thank you," Beca said, smiling softly. "That's... That's really sweet of you."

Chloe smiled back and stood, stretching and cracking her back.

"You're a super comfortable pillow by the way," Chloe said.

"Same," Beca replied, feeling herself blush again.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **So my plan was to have like half of this chapter be a flashback but the flashback went on longer than expected so basically this chapter and the next chapter will be mostly flashbacks... Hope that's okay!**

 **Please keep the reviews coming, they really really help keep me motivated**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

"How much further is it to Diamond City?" Chloe asked as they carried on their journey.

"Not much longer," Beca said, checking her pip-boy to make sure they were headed in the right direction. "Couple of hours maybe. It's not easy though. We have to go right into the centre of the city to get to it. Security patrol a lot of it, but there are usually groups of raiders and super-mutants holed up in the buildings just outside."

"You really hate raiders, huh?" Chloe asked, not missing the way Beca would practically spit the word every time she said it.

"Everyone hates raiders," Beca said. "They don't give a shit about rebuilding the world, they just want to steal and kill. A group of them they... They killed my mom." Chloe looked at her. Her hand had tightened around the bat and her jaw was clenched. "I hate them."

"I'm sorry, Beca," Chloe said. "What happened?"

Beca was quiet for a moment, as if she was trying to decide whether or not to say anything. She hadn't spoken about it properly since Aubrey had found her. Part of her regretted even mentioning her mom. Of course Chloe was going to ask questions about it. Another part hoped that maybe getting it off her chest would help ease the nightmares, at least for a little while.

"You don't have to tell me," Chloe said, breaking the silence. "I just thought it might help to talk about it."

Beca nodded, trying to work up the courage to start speaking.

"I haven't talked about it in a long time," Beca said. She rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand.

"Just take your time," Chloe said.

"I was sixteen," Beca said, finally. "We'd been in Diamond City for about a year I think. It was the middle of the night and my mom woke me up."

"Why?"

"She didn't say. Not at first. Just that we had to leave," Beca said, the memories still fresh in her mind.

 ** _"Mom, what's going on?" Beca asked, rubbing her eyes, confused._**

 _ **"I can't explain now Beca, we have to go," her mom said, shoving what few possessions they had into a bag. "Just get dressed, okay sweetie?"**_

 _ **Beca pulled her clothes on quickly and followed her mom out of their tiny apartment in Diamond City.**_

 _ **It was cold and quiet outside. The only noises she could hear were from the bots who were still selling in the market.**_

 _ **"Just keep close to me," her mom whispered as they made their way through the little alley-ways, avoiding the main path through the tiny city.**_

 _ **They reached the city gates where a couple of armed guards were standing, fully kitted out in heavy armor. Nick Valentine was there waiting for them.**_

 _ **"Is there any sign of him yet?" Her mom asked him.**_

 _ **"Not that I've heard. No one outside the gates have reported seeing him yet. I don't think he's reached the city," he said. "Move quickly and stick to the shadows. Try and get out of the area as fast as you can. There's a settlement just north that will take you in for now."**_

 _ **"Thank you," her mom said, trying to hand over a purse filled with bottlecaps.**_

 _ **"I don't want your caps, Sarah," he said. "Keep them. And keep each other safe. Good luck."**_

 _ **"Mom, please tell me what's going on. You're freaking me out," Beca said.**_

 _ **"Your dad found out we were here," her mom said, trying to hide the fear from her voice. "So we have to go, okay?"**_

 _ **"Okay," Beca said. She felt afraid now. She had very little memory of her father, but she knew he was frightening. He spent a lot of time with his raider friends and quite often got violent. Beca and her mom had ran away when she was nine. They moved from place to place so he wouldn't find them, but they'd stayed in Diamond City longer than they usually would have. They felt safe there, behind the high walls and guards. "How did he find us?" Beca whispered as they left Diamond City.**_

 _ **"I don't know," her mom said, moving quickly and quietly through the alleys. "I just know that Nick heard from someone in a bar that he was on his way. You have to stay quiet now, okay Becs? Just be quiet and stay close to me."**_

 _ **They didn't get far.**_

 _ **After about twenty minutes of moving through the area they reached a courtyard lit with torches. Her mom gripped her arm and tried to lead her back into the shadows, but they were grabbed from behind by a pair of raiders.**_

 _ **"Mom!" Beca cried out as her arms were twisted painfully behind her.**_

 _ **"Don't touch her!" Her mom yelled, struggling against the person who held her.**_

 _ **"I won't hurt her," a voice said from across the courtyard. Beca looked to see her dad walking towards them, several raiders with them. More came from other directions and they were soon surrounded.**_

 _ **"Just let her go, James," her mom said. "Do what you want with me, but please let her go. She's just a kid."**_

 _ **"My kid," her dad said. "She's my kid, Sarah, and you took her away." He hit her hard across the face.**_

 _ **"Stop it!" Beca shouted.**_

 _ **"You'll need to learn some respect, Beca. I'll teach you that. But don't worry about it for now," he said, before he nodded at the person holding her.**_

 _ **A second later and someone struck her in the back of the head, and everything went dark.**_

 _ **She woke up in what seemed to be a prison cell. Her mom was in the cell beside her, heavily bruised with blood running down the side of her face.**_

 _ **"Mom?" Beca asked, groaning slightly as she sat up and moved to cell wall that connected to her mother's cell. "Are you okay?"**_

 _ **"I'm fine sweetie," her mom said, reaching her hand through the bars. Beca took it. "Are you?"**_

 _ **"I think so," Beca said.**_

 _ **"We'll be okay, Becs," she said. "We'll get out of this."**_

 _ **"Don't lie to her," her dad said. He was sitting at one of the desks in the room. "Clearly, things aren't going to be okay."**_

 _ **"Why are you doing this?" Her mom asked.**_

 _ **"A daughter should be with her father," he said, standing up and walking over. "But I said I wouldn't hurt her, and I won't."**_

 _ **"You've already hurt me," Beca said, rubbing the back of her head.**_

 _ **"That was necessary," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "And nothing compared to what would happen to you if you were picked up by a normal gang of raiders. In fact, mine are due a reward for helping get you here." He turned to face her mom. "I thought maybe you could help me out with that, Sarah."**_

 _ **Three raiders approached the cell and her dad opened it.**_

 _ **"What are you doing?" Beca asked. The raiders grabbed her mom and dragged her out of the cell. "Let her go!"**_

 _ **"I'm doing this for you, Beca," her dad said. "I didn't think you'd want to watch what's going to happen."**_

 _ **Her mom started struggling.**_

 _ **"Leave her alone!" Beca rain to the door of her cell and started pulling at the door. "Mom!"**_

 _ **"Get off me!" Her mom screamed as she was dragged into a nearby room.**_

 _ **"Please let her go," Beca pleaded with her dad.**_

 _ **"Beca, these people are ruthless. They're vicious. They have certain... needs. And I'll be honest, they'd rather use you to fulfill those needs. But that's not going to happen while I'm here. So I needed to give them someone, didn't I?" He said.**_

 _ **Beca had stopped listening to him. Her mom's screams were filling the room.**_

 _ **"Please make them stop," Beca said, tears in her eyes. "Please."**_

 _ **"It's too late for that Beca," he said, and the screaming stopped.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's the latest!**

 **Violence in this chapter**

 **Pretty please review?**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Beca's voice failed her and tears had filled her eyes. She cleared her throat slightly.

"I don't know what they did," Beca said, trying to avoid looking at Chloe. "But I didn't see her again."

"God, Beca, I'm so sorry," she said. "What kind of monster does that to their child?" Beca didn't answer, she just wiped her eyes. "How did you get away from him?"

"Eventually, the raiders got tired of taking orders from him. They wanted me, but he wouldn't let them. So they shot him. They'd have done to me what they did to my mom, but Dogmeat here showed up."

 _ **"Finally, we can get our hands on this little bitch," one of the raiders said, opening her cell door. Beca had lost track of how long she'd been in there. She had stopped caring. She looked at the dead body of her father and felt nothing but hatred for him. He'd kept his word, and hadn't physically hurt her while she'd been here, but she'd never forgive him for what he did to her mother.**_

 _ **"Just make it quick," Beca said, her voice devoid of emotion.**_

 _ **"We can do whatever the fuck we want, now that your daddy's dead," he said, withdrawing a machete from his belt. "And I think we're gonna take our time with this."**_

 _ **Before he could take another step, a dog started growling from the main doorway of the room.**_

 _ **"What the fuck-" He was cut off as the dog leapt for him, sinking his teeth into the man's arm.**_

 _ **Beca saw her chance and made a grab for his gun. He swung his free hand and it connected hard with the side of her head. She staggered slightly before going for his gun again. She got it and fired quickly, once into his thigh, the other his hip.**_

 _ **"Motherfucker!" He shouted.**_

 _ **Raiders began coming in from other rooms, and Beca started shooting at their heads. She killed three and injured a fourth before she ran out of bullets.**_

 _ **Meanwhile, the dog tearing into as many as he could. He went for their throats and soon his muzzle was dripping with blood.**_

 _ **Beca found an aluminum bat resting just outside of the cell, and she grabbed it. One of the last raiders standing fired his gun, and Beca only just dived out of the way in time, the bullet grazing her leg. Blood began soaking through her jeans, but she was too full of adrenaline to feel any pain. Before he could take another shot, she swung the bat at his arm, and heard a satisfying crack.**_

 _ **"You stupid bitch!" He cried out, before the bat made contact with his head.**_

 _ **Someone grabbed her from behind but she kicked him hard between the legs. He let her go and she swung the bat at his head too.**_

 _ **It was over in minutes. She stood, breathing heavily in the centre of the room. Six raiders lay either dead or unconscious at her feet. One groaned and she approached him. She recognised him as one of the ones who'd dragged her mother from her cell.**_

 _ **"You shouldn't have fucked with us," she said. She hit him in the kneecap. "You shouldn't have fucked with us!" She hit him in the head. "You. Shouldn't. Have. Fucked. With. Us!" Each word was punctuated by another blow to his body. She let out a scream of pain and fury as she kept hitting him.**_

 _ **Soon she ran out of energy and her scream dissolved into tears as she sank to her knees. "I'm so sorry, mom," she said, her voice little more than a whisper as her body was racked with sobs.**_

 _ **She had all but forgotten about the dog until he gave a small whimper. She looked at him and he nudged her arm with his head.**_

 _ **"Thank you," she said, softly. She hugged him before checking his name tag. It read 'Dogmeat'. He nudged her again as if telling her to stand up. Time to go, the nudge said. It's not safe here.**_

 _ **She took the bat and used it almost like a crutch as they left what she now saw was an abandoned police station. Her leg was still bleeding heavily, and she had taken a fair few hits during the fight.**_

 _ **She didn't know how long she'd been walking, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do it for much longer. She had found a pip-boy on her way out of the prison, and it was telling her that she was in trouble. She needed food and water and she'd lost a lot of blood.**_

 _ **She wasn't really walking anymore. It was more like staggering. Dogmeat began barking, and he ran ahead of her, before coming back. Beca could barely make out a figure hurrying towards her. She wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't hallucinating.**_

 _ **"Hey, are you okay?" They said. She saw blonde hair and felt someone put their hands on her shoulders. "What happened?" She saw that it was a woman holding her up. The woman was shifting in front of her. It was like she was flickering. Beca tried to pull away from her, but she staggered again and the world span around her. "I won't hurt you," she said. "Let me help."**_

 _ **Beca wasn't sure, but she think she nodded before the Earth shifted again and she threw up.**_

 _ **"Okay," she said. "You're okay." She sat her down, her back resting against a building. "Drink this." She handed her some water.**_

 _ **"It's... It's not safe here," Beca said, closing her eyes as she felt dizzy again. "We have to move."**_

 _ **"We'll be alright for now," she said. Beca drank the water and a second later she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder as the woman used a stimpak on her. "Feeling better?" Beca nodded. "I'm Aubrey."**_

 _ **"Beca," Beca said. "And thank you."**_

 _ **Aubrey helped Beca stand, and half carried her back to her settlement, where her and a few other girls treated her injuries and gave her food, water, and a bed. They gave her a home.**_

"If Dogmeat, or Aubrey hadn't turned up that day, I'd be dead," Beca said. Her voice was a little hoarse from the amount of talking she'd done, and tears were still stinging her eyes.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that," Chloe said. At some point during her story, Chloe had taken a hold of Beca's free hand, and was currently lightly rubbing her thumb across the back of her hand. Beca hadn't questioned it at the time, and she didn't want it to stop. She squeezed Chloe's hand, and the redhead squeezed back.

"Thank you for listening," Beca said. Her chest felt lighter.

The feeling didn't last, as soon they'd reached the outskirts of Boston. Diamond City was nestled deep inside.

"Are you ready for this?" Beca asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Chloe said, reluctantly letting go of Beca's hand to draw her pistol.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys, here's the latest chapter.  
**

 **I struggled to get going with this one, and it almost feels a bit pointless because I'm not even sure people are still reading at this point.**

 **But I've started now, so I'll carry. I'd really appreciate some reviews, just so I know if I'm doing good or not.**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

They walked in silence through the city, Dogmeat walking slightly ahead of them, his body low to the ground. Beca kept her eyes peeled for the graffiti that would let them know that they were getting close to Diamond City.

They were making good progress when Beca halted them. She pointed up ahead and Chloe saw a gang of super-mutants. They were all patrolling just outside what looked like an old church. Fires lit in old barrels served as makeshift torches, and nets filled with blood, bones and flesh hung from old streetlamps. Several mutant-dogs were also patrolling.

They were truly terrifying creatures.

"What do we do?" Chloe asked, whispering.

"We find another route," Beca replied, her voice just as quiet. "Come on."

She lead them through a serious of dark alleyways until they reached another street which seemed more deserted. Keeping to the shadows, the pair carried on towards Diamond City.

Beca was nervous as hell. The detour had added time to their journey, and she just wanted to get them to safety.

It didn't take long for them to run into another problem.

Raiders.

A whole gang of them had blocked off the street. Wooden walls had been erected between the buildings that lined the street, so that the only way to continue down it, was to go through their hideout. They were hidden in an alleyway as Beca looked at the map on her pip-boy to see if there was another street they could use.

"Fuck," Beca whispered as she realised their was no other way.

"Can't we just go back?" Chloe asked.

"According to the map, we either have to go through here, or go past those super-mutants. There are two other streets but one is completely blocked off by a collapsed building, and the other has what used to be the freeway on top of it. So it comes down to super-mutants vs raiders, and we stand a much better chance of survival if we take on the raiders," Beca said, her voice shaking slightly. "We'll just have to fight our way through."

"Beca, I don't like this," Chloe said. "There has to be another way."

"I don't like it either," Beca said, feeling more afraid than she had done in a long time. "But it's our only option."

"So what, we just storm in there?" Chloe asked.

"No," Beca said, trying to think of a strategy. "We should try and kill as many as we can from outside the hideout. Try and draw them out. Then once they're dead, just run through. They're usually pretty small, and then one we're out the other side, we should be close enough to Diamond City that the security will protect us."

"Okay," Chloe said, clenching her gun in her hand. "If you're sure."

"I'm not sure," Beca said. "But we don't have much of a choice."

"I'll follow your lead," Chloe said. "Just tell me what to do."

Beca reached into her bag and handed her a frag grenade, taking one for herself.

"Do you know how to use this?" Beca asked, checking her gun was full off ammo.

"Pull the pin and throw?" Chloe asked.

"Bingo," Beca said. "Try and aim it so it goes over their wall. Hopefully it will take out one or two of them. With any luck it should draw out some of the others, and I'll throw mine. After that, we just keep shooting. Once you've thrown your grenade, get back into the alley, okay?"

Chloe nodded and the pair moved more into the street.

Chloe held her breath before she threw the grenade as far as she could. It clipped the side of the building and then landed in the hideout.

There was a few seconds of silence before the explosion.

Beca didn't hesitate in throwing hers so it landed just at the entrance of the hideout. The door swung open just before the second explosion.

Chloe had to stifle a scream as bits of raider flew everywhere.

"Shh," Beca said, looking down the sights of her gun, waiting for the next wave to appear.

The crack of a gun sounded and something hit the wall just beside her head.

Beca pushed them both to the ground and then scanned the area where the shot had come from.

Time seemed to slow down as she spotted the raider at the window of one of the buildings, looking down the sights of his own gun. Before he could fire again, Beca shot at him, hitting him in the head.

The final three raiders came out of the hideout. Two shooting, the other brandishing a baseball bat with razor blades stuck into the wood.

Dogmeat started attacking, and Beca and Chloe started shooting.

It was over quickly.

Chloe turned to Beca, shaking from adrenaline but smiling. She had taken a hit from the bat which had hurt, but thanks to the leather armor Beca had given her, it hadn't done any real damage.

Beca had already taken a stimpak from her bag and jammed it into her own arm, wincing as she injected herself.

"Beca?" Chloe asked, worried. Beca had paled and had a sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Beca asked, gingerly touching her own shoulder.

"I'm fine," Chloe said, moving towards Beca "Are you?"

Beca withdrew her hand from her shoulder, which was now coated in blood. It had seeped through her shirt and was now running down her arm. She'd been shot.

"Shit," Beca said. "Help me get this off." Chloe helped Beca remove the armor from her right arm. She ripped off her sleeve and handed it to Chloe, who tied it tightly around the wound. "We need to keep moving," she said.

"Beca, you're hurt-"

"I'm fine, Chloe," she said, cutting Chloe off, her voice strained. "The sooner we get there, the sooner I can get help."

Chloe didn't like it, but nodded anyway, picking up Beca's bag and putting it on her back.

Beca began walking towards what was left of the hideout before she swayed slightly. The stimpak had helped to an extent but she was still bleeding heavily.

Chloe grabbed her arm, steadying her.

"What do I do?" She asked, taking Beca's uninjured arm and draping it over her shoulder.

"Just keep going," Beca said, closing her eyes for a second.

They began moving through the hideout, but not fast enough.

Soon, Dogmeat was barking again, and the air was full of the sound of shouting and gunfire.

Chloe pushed them behind a concrete barrier and the pair shielded themselves against the spray of bullets.

Their backs were pressed against the barrier, both breathing heavily, too scared to move.

Beca's eyes were shut and her jaw was clenched as she forced herself to take steadying breaths. Her hand was gripping her injured shoulder. The makeshift bandage was already soaked in blood.

"Chloe," Beca said, her voice strained. "You have to run, okay?"

"What?" Chloe asked, moving slightly out of their cover to fire at the oncoming raiders.

"We're so close to Diamond City. If you run, you'll make it," she said. Chloe looked at her. She wasn't in a good way.

"What about you?" Chloe asked.

"Just... Don't worry about me," Beca said, opening her eyes as she tried to focus. "I'll be right behind you."

"I'm not leaving you," Chloe said, firing over the barrier again.

"Chloe, you need to find your kid," Beca said. "You can't do that if you die here with me."

"I'll use the flare gun," Chloe said, reaching to take it from Beca's holster. "Call for help."

"No," Beca said, her hand closing around her wrist. "You'll just attract attention. Please, Chloe. Just get out of here."

"They already know we're here Beca," Chloe said. The grip around her wrist had relaxed, and Chloe took that as a sign that Beca agreed with her. She took the flare gun and fired it into the air. Soon they were bathed in red light. "Someone will come for us."

Beca didn't answer.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Posted this a little later than I usually would.**

 **Please pretty please keep reviewing**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Beca forced her eyes open, and wondered for a second how she was moving. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, and she realised she was being dragged. She could feel someone holding her under her arms. The sky was full of red light, so she knew Chloe must have fired off a flare.

 _God, I hope she got away._

She could hear shouting and gunfire, and whoever was pulling her sounded like they were out of breath.

 _They've got me,_ she thought. _They'll take me back to their hideout and kill me like they killed mom_.

The pain in her arm peaked.

 _Please tell me she got away._

As the darkness began closing in again, her final thought was that she hoped she'd die before they could get her back.

* * *

Chloe was dragging Beca. Every muscle she had was aching, and she was breathing heavily, but she kept dragging her.

Beca had saved her life and gotten her this far. She couldn't just leave her to be torn apart by raiders.

The raiders had started gaining on them, and Chloe had to drop Beca in order to take out the two closest.

And then the gun ran out of ammo.

Beca hadn't shown her how to reload the laser pistol, and now she wasn't in the position to.

The raider closest raised is arms, holding a sledgehammer, and grinned maniacally.

There was nothing Chloe could do but try and protect herself and Beca as best as she could. She thought of Emily as she waited for the blow.

But it never came.

She heard more shots being fired and then felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up.

"Are you okay ma'am?" A man asked. Chloe nodded. "I'm with the Minutemen, we're here to help."

Chloe looked around and saw a group of men and women were pushing the raiders back, forming a protective barrier around herself and Beca.

"My friend's been shot," Chloe said, looking down at the brunette.

"We'll get her to Diamond City," the man said. He waved over a man in heavy armor with security written across his chest approached them. "Get her to Dr. Sun." The man nodded and bent down and scooped Beca up, carrying her with ease. "Stay close to me," he said, and the group began backing away, heading for Diamond City.

They reached the entrance to the city in minutes, and were soon rushing up a set of stairs.

As they reached the top, Chloe took a second to look out at the city. What had once been a baseball field was now a town. The far side of it was filled with shacks and trailers. Towards the centre was a bustling market, filled with people. Security guards and bots patrolled the streets and the whole city was surrounded by a high green wall.

Chloe carried on following the guard who was now running down a set of stairs and into the market.

He ran to one of the shacks in the market which had a chemistry station and a man in a white coat crafting something.

He took one look at Beca and ushered them down a set of stairs.

There was another man in the room when they arrived and Dr. Sun began barking orders at him.

"Get a blood pack ready and start sterilizing these," he said, gesturing to his medical tools on a work bench. "Put her on there," he said, sweeping junk from a table in the middle of the room. He covered the table in an old sheet and the guard put her down.

Beca woke up as her back hit the wood.

It took her a second to realise that she wasn't with the raiders, and she felt relief wash over her. She felt a pinch in her hand as Dr. Sun's assistant attached a blood pack to her through an IV.

"Did Chloe make it out?" She asked, as Dr. Sun cut away her makeshift bandage.

"I'm here, Beca," Chloe said, trying to get to her side.

"Please stay back, miss," Dr. Sun said. He moved Beca slightly onto her side and he checked the back of her shoulder. Beca hissed in pain, biting down on her lip to stop herself from shouting. "No exit wound," he said, more to himself.

His assistant had already attached a blood bag to Beca's arm and was now crafting something at a chemistry station.

Dr. Sun took some of the alcohol his assistant had used to sterilize the tools and poured some onto a cloth.

"Ready?" He asked Beca. Beca nodded, and braced herself. He began cleaning the wound and she swore loudly.

His assistant then handed him a syringe and he injected it into Beca's arm.

"See you in a few hours, okay?" He said, and Beca passed out again.

Chloe spent the next hour waiting as Dr. Sun removed the bullet from her shoulder and repaired the damage. She sat with her hands clasped together and tears in her eyes with Dogmeat lying at her feet, who occasionally whimpered.

Eventually, Dr. Sun stood up straight and stretched his back.

"Done," he said, as his assistant applied a clean bandage.

"She'll be okay?" Chloe asked, standing up.

"She'll be sore for a few days, but she'll be fine," he said. He moved to a sink and began cleaning his hands.

"Thank you so much," she said, the tears falling with relief.

"Just doing my job," he said. "She should wake up in an hour or so. This water is safe if you want to clean up, but I wouldn't recommend drinking it. If you need food or water, the market is just up the stairs. Someone will be able to sell or trade you some." And with that he left them to it, his assistant following close behind.

Chloe washed the blood from her hands and then took some of the water from Beca's backpack. Now that she knew Beca would be okay, she was aware of how tired, hungry and thirsty she was. She quickly drained the can of water, but she didn't want to eat anything without sharing it with Beca. So she just dragged a chair over so she was sitting beside her, and waited for her to wake up.

Every part of her body was aching, and her eyes were itching with tiredness, but she was unbelievably relieved.

They had made it.

Despite the odds, they'd reached Diamond City and she was one step closer to finding her daughter.

She looked over at the sleeping brunette and hesitantly reached out to take the hand of her uninjured arm. She owed so much to Beca. She wouldn't have been able to forgive herself if Beca had been killed getting her here. She'd only known her for a few days, but it felt longer. She liked her.

She really liked her.

"I thought I told you to run," Beca mumbled, removing her hand from Chloe's so she could rub her eyes.

"You're welcome," Chloe said, smiling at her.

"I think you scuffed my boots when you dragged me," she said smirking as she tried to sit up.

"I'll buy you a new pair," Chloe said, helping her.

"You'd better," Beca said. "Those were my favourite-" she was cut off as Chloe pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly whilst trying to avoid her shoulder. "Uhh, you okay there?"

"I'm just really glad you're okay," Chloe said, softly.

Beca put her uninjured arm around her and hugged her back.

"Okay, weirdo," she said, smiling. "Come on. We should go see Nick."

Chloe helped her down from the table and she winced as she crouched down to stroke Dogmeat.

"Ow," she said, straightening up. "This hurts like a bitch."

"Are you sure you don't want to rest a bit first?" Chloe asked, picking up the bag of supplies and putting it on her back.

"Dr. Sun will start charging us rent if we're here much longer. Nick isn't far, he should let us stay there," Beca said, wincing again. She opened the bag on Chloe's back and pulled out a small purse of caps.

They climbed the stairs and found Dr. Sun crafting again.

"Hey," Beca said, handing him the purse. "Thanks for patching me up. That's all I have, I hope it's enough."

"Keep it," he said, handing it back. "Just don't ruin my hard work by dying out there."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Soooo I don't mean to be all needy for reviews and shit, but my last chapter only got like three, which can be a bit disheartening when you work hard writing a chapter. It's hard to stay motivated to write when you feel like no one's reading.**

 **In other news, those of you who've played Fallout 4, or who know the story, might think they have an idea about what happened/will happen to Chloe's daughter. But I want to do something different with it so I won't be following the FO4 story line.**

 **Please review. Please. Thanks**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Beca insisted on paying Dr. Sun, saying that he had provided a service and she wanted to pay for it. He refused, smiling at her frustration as she tried to force the bag of caps into his hand.

She settled on buying a couple of stimpaks from him which, unknown to her, he sold to her at a heavily discounted price.

"Take care," he said as the two girls left his store. He was glad to see she was okay. Beca didn't know it, but he was one of the people who'd went out searching the city for her and her mother when they found out they'd been taken. He didn't think he'd ever see her again.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Beca Mitchell," a voice said from behind them. Beca turned around to see a woman with dark hair and a red leather cap. She had her arms folded and was smirking. "Glad to see you're still alive."

"Hey Piper," Beca said.

"Who's the pretty redhead with the jumpsuit and the fish-out-of-water look?"

"This is Chloe," Beca said, introducing them. "Chloe, this is Piper, she produces the newspaper here."

"Nice to meet you," Chloe said, noticing the way Beca had blushed slightly at the sight of her old friend.

"You got a story worth my time, Red?" Piper asked, winking at Beca who blushed harder.

"Another time, maybe Piper. We need to see Nick," Beca said.

"Boo," Piper said. "Is this because you still have a huge crush on me?"

"Okay, well it was lovely catching up, see you Piper!" Beca said, loudly, steering Chloe away from the now laughing Piper. "Sorry about that," she said when they were far enough away.

"Did you have a crush on her?" Chloe asked, enjoying watching the usually cool and collected Beca look flustered.

"In my defense, I was sixteen and she was like the only cool and pretty woman I knew," Beca said. They reached the entrance to Nick Valentine's office. "Down here," she said, leading them down a staircase to a red door, which Beca opened.

Inside was a small office-like space filled with over-flowing filing cabinets. There was a sofa and a few chairs and a desk which had several piles of papers.

There was a small staircase at the back of the office which lead up to a couple of beds.

Nick turned when he heard the door open and he froze.

"Beca," he said, taking her in. "You're a sight for sore eyes, kid."

"Hi Nick," Beca said, smiling at him. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Nick pulled her into a hug.

"I heard a rumor you'd been brought in but I didn't believe it," he said once they broke apart. "I tried to find you. But once I found their hide-out and your Mom... I thought they'd killed you too. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Nick. I'm okay," Beca said. "But Chloe here needs your help. Her daughter was taken and she's looking for her."

Nick gestured for them to take a seat, and Chloe took in his appearance. He looked and sounded like the kind of New York private detectives you found in old movies, complete with trench-coat and battered fedora, except for the fact that he was obviously a synth. Beca had told her how, before the destruction of the Institute, people used to be kidnapped in the dead of night and replaced by completely life-like synths, that were so convincing even their own family couldn't tell. If Nick had once been that life-like, he certainly wasn't now. His eyes were yellow and slightly glowing and he was missing patches of skin on his face with machinery showing through.

"When did you last see your daughter, Chloe?" He asked, taking a pen and paper out of his jacket.

Chloe looked at Beca who nodded before placing a hand on her arm and squeezing.

Chloe told him everything. Starting from the sirens that came before the bomb was dropped, to waking up in the vault over 200 years later. Nick listened intently, making notes. When she finished, he was silent for a few seconds, looking over his notes.

"Can you remember anything about what the man looked like?" He asked.

"Not really," Chloe said, trying to remember. "He had a scar I think. And there was a kid with him. A boy. Maybe ten years old."

Nick sighed slightly. "This won't be easy, Chloe. This could have happened at anytime in the last 200 years. But I'll do my best to help you."

"Thank you," Chloe said. "Thank you so much."

"What's our next move?" Beca asked, squeezing Chloe's arm again.

"We should head to Goodneighbour. It's another settlement," he added, for Chloe's benefit. "We'll see Dr. Amari at the Memory Den."

"We can replay the kidnapping," Beca said. "Get a good look at the guy who did it."

"Exactly," Nick said. "Until we have a clear picture of who we're looking for, we have no chance of finding your daughter."

"What's the Memory Den?" Chloe asked.

"It's a place which lets you pick a memory from your past and watch it," Nick said. "In this case we'll be able to watch what happened when your daughter was taken. It might not give us a time frame, but it will show who did it."

"Okay," Chloe said, feeling a wave of nerves and excitement. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow," he said. "I take it you girls don't have a place to stay tonight?" They shook their heads. "Take the two beds upstairs. I'll get us some food and water for the journey."

"You don't have to," Beca said, knowing that Nick didn't need food or water and that this was just for her and and Chloe's benefit.

"I know," he said. "But I want to. Go get some rest."

They climbed the stairs to Nick's small sleeping loft, and climbed into the two beds. Dogmeat lay curled at the foot of the beds.

"You're quiet," Beca said after a while. She assumed Chloe would be full of questions about where they were going and what would happen, but the redhead hadn't said a word since Nick had told them the plan.

"I don't think you should come with me," she said, quietly.

"What?" Beca asked, sitting up. She winced as she pulled on her shoulder.

"I think you should go back to Sanctuary," Chloe said. It was fairly dark in the room, so Beca turned up the lamp by the bed and saw tears in Chloe's eyes.

"Why?" She asked.

"Beca, you got shot," Chloe said, sitting up too. Her hands were twisting in her lap and her eyes were looking anywhere but at Beca.

"So?"

"So?! So you got shot! You got seriously hurt because of me!" Chloe said.

To her surprise, Beca laughed. Her eyes shot up and she saw the small brunette was smiling.

"Chloe," she said, shaking her head slightly. "This wasn't the first time I've been shot, and it won't be the last."

"You almost died," Chloe said.

"This wasn't the first time I've almost died," Beca said. She moved over so she was sitting on Chloe's bed beside her. "I know that this whole new world is scary to you, but this is the world I grew up in. And it's dangerous. If you make it to 30, then you've had a long full life. You can't protect me from getting hurt. And unless you pull the trigger, then it isn't your fault if I get hurt." Beca hesitantly reached out and took Chloe's hand. "If you want me to leave because you don't like me, or whatever, then I'll go. But otherwise I'm sticking with you, okay?"

Chloe squeezed her hand. "Okay," she said softly.

"You'll let me stay?"

"I want you to stay."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Another chapter which means another shameless beg for reviews!**

 **It was a tricky chapter to write because it's really hard to describe the Memory Den scene from Fallout 4, so I hope I've done it justice. If it's unclear or confusing just let me know and I'll try and explain it better.**

 **Again, please review!**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Aubrey was annoyed. She was angry. She was downright furious with Beca. The tiny pain in her ass had promised her she'd use the radio at Diamond City to send a message to Aubrey, to let her know that they'd arrived and how much longer they planned to be away.

It shouldn't have taken them more than two days to reach the city. But it had been three days since they left and Aubrey hadn't heard a thing.

She was worried, and all she could think about was the day she'd found Beca. The way she'd half carried her back to Sanctuary, which was then little more than a house. How she'd cleaned her up, washing away the dirt and blood. How she'd held her hand while Stacie had stitched the gash in her leg that the bullet had left behind. Then later that night, holding her as she whispered what had happened to her and her mother, tears soaking into Aubrey's shirt.

She cared about all the girls at Sanctuary. None of them had any family left, so they became each other's family. She loved them all. But Beca was different. She was her best friend. She loved her with the same ferocity she had once felt for her younger sister. And she hadn't stopped worrying since she'd disappeared over the horizon three days ago.

"She'll be okay, you know?" Stacie said to her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I know," Aubrey said, without conviction.

"You know what Beca's like, she probably got distracted and forgot to radio in," she said.

"Yeah," Aubrey said, knowing that that wasn't like Beca at all.

They worked in silence, repairing one of their turrets, for a few more minutes until Stacie nudged her, before nodding to one of the roads leading into Sanctuary.

Three Minutemen were walking towards them.

Aubrey stood up and wiped the oil from her hands before she walked out to meet them.

"Aubrey," one of them said, by way of greeting.

"Preston," Aubrey said back. "What can we do for you?"

"We have a message from Beca," he said as they walked into Sanctuary together.

"She's okay?" Aubrey asked, feeling relief spread through her as he handed her a letter.

"She's okay," he said. "A little banged up but otherwise fine."

"When did you see her?"

"Yesterday morning. We mentioned we'd be passing by here, so she asked us if we'd stop by and deliver that," he said. "The radio in Diamond City is out so she couldn't get in touch."

"Thank you," Aubrey said. "It's getting dark, feel free to stay the night."

"We would like that, thank you," Preston said.

Stacie showed them to one of the unoccupied rooms, and gave them some food and water while Aubrey went into her own room in order to read the letter.

 _Bree,_

 _Chloe and I are fine. We got to Diamond City and met up with Nick. We ran into some raiders on the way and things looked a little dicey, but we're okay now. Chloe and the Minutemen saved my ass._

 _Tomorrow we're heading to Goodneighbour with Nick so we can go to the Memory Den and try and get access to Chloe's memories._

 _I'm not sure when we'll be back, but I'll try and keep in touch. Try not to worry too much._

 _I hope you and the others are all well._

 _I miss you._

 _Beca_

Aubrey looked down at the letter and sighed. She didn't like not knowing when Beca would be home.

* * *

"So you and Aubrey are close, huh?" Chloe asked her as they prepared to leave for Goodneighbour.

"Yeah," Beca said, loading her bag with new supplies. "She's my best friend."

"Did you two ever...?"

Beca laughed. "No," she said. "She's like my sister. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Chloe said. "Ready to go?"

"Sure," Beca said, standing and trying to lift the backpack, which Chloe immediately took off her. "Dude, I can do it."

"I'm sure you can," Chloe said, putting it on her back. "But the less strain you put on your shoulder, the faster it'll heal."

"If you're sure," Beca said, picking up her bat instead.

The two girls and Dogmeat left Nick's office to find him outside talking to one of the traders.

"How's the arm?" He asked Beca.

"Better," she said.

"Let's go then."

The journey to Goodneighbour was short and uneventful, and soon they were walking through the doors of the Memory Den.

It was dimly lit and full of red. Shabby red sofas, red walls, red doors. Nick lead them through the back and into a slightly cleaner, more well lit room. It had several TVs and pod-like chairs, and a woman in a white lab coat.

"Dr. Amari, these are my friends Beca and Chloe. Chloe's baby daughter was kidnapped, and we need your help in finding who did it," Nick said as they entered. He explained what they needed and eventually she agreed to help them.

"This will be difficult without an exact memory to jump to," she said. "We will probably have to move around through different memories first, are you okay with that?"

Chloe nodded, feeling nervous again. Amari sat her down in one of the pods.

"Is this safe?" Beca asked, feeling nervous herself.

"Of course it is," Amari said, as she set up the pod. "Okay Chloe, I'm going to ask you to watch the screen. Then everything will go dark for a second, and then you'll be inside your own memories. You'll have to follow a path and then you'll be in a specific memory which we will then watch. If it's the wrong one, I'll set out a new path for you to follow. Hopefully we'll reach the important one quickly. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Chloe said. "I'll see you soon," she added to Beca, who looked worried. Beca smiled at her.

"See you soon," she said.

"Okay," Amari said. "Watch the screen, Chloe."

Chloe stared at the TV screen in front of her, which at the minute had nothing except 'Please Wait' written on it. Dr. Amari closed the glass lid of the pod, and the outside noise died away. It didn't take long for the screen to be replaced by darkness.

Beca watched as Chloe's eyes closed, and then a few seconds later, the larger screen on the wall flickered into life.

"Chloe can you hear me?" Amari asked.

"Yes," came Chloe's slightly afraid voice from the screen on the wall. The Chloe in the pod remained quiet and still.

"Follow the first path," Amari said, typing something into her computer. A red web-like strand appeared in front of her, and Chloe hesitantly stepped on it. She followed the strand and soon reached a familiar sight.

The living room of the house she grew up in.

As soon as her feet touched the carpet, the memory started playing.

It was a simple one. Just her and her mother and father sitting on a their sofa, talking and laughing. At one point, her dad started to tickle her, and the five or six year old Chloe started to giggle and shriek, scrambling to get away from him.

Chloe watched them with tears building in her eyes.

"We went too far back," Amari said, typing things into her computer again. "Follow the path out of the room, Chloe and we'll try again."

Chloe didn't follow the path out but instead moved further into the room. She reached out to try and touch them, but her hand passed through them.

"Chlo', are you okay?" Beca asked.

"Yeah," she said, clearing her throat. She turned her back on her family and left the room.

The next room she reached was the bedroom she'd had as a teenager. Chloe saw her 15 year old self sitting on her bed beside another girl around the same age.

"Uh, this isn't right," Chloe said, quickly. "Another six years forward at least."

"One second," Amari said, before the Chloe on the bed began making out with the girl beside her. Amari typed quickly as Chloe felt herself getting redder and redder, trying not to watch her first kiss with a girl. "Okay, take the path out."

She did quickly and left the room behind.

The next room was the living room of her old house. The house she'd lived in before the bomb dropped. A 21 year old Chloe was sitting on her sofa with baby Emily in her arms. She was staring blankly ahead as a man in uniform spoke to her. The memory started playing.

"Do you understand what I've said to you ma'am?" The man asked.

"Yes," Chloe said. Her voice was quiet but oddly calm.

"It was a terrible accident, and we lost a lot of people, including your husband. He was a good soldier, and he'll be greatly missed."

"We weren't married," Chloe said. "We were going to when he came home."

"Oh," he said. "I'm sorry. There is one more thing," he pulled out an envelope. "Because he died in service-

"In training. He died training," Chloe said, interrupting.

"Yes," the man said. "Because he died in training, we would like to offer you a place in Vault 111."

The real Chloe had stopped listening. Instead she focused on the face of her daughter, and felt a new wave of determination to find her.

"Chloe? Can you hear us? I said you could move on," Amari said.

Chloe turned her back on the scene and carried on following the path.

She felt like she was walking for a long time before she reached the next memory.

This time she found herself in a room filled with pods.

She saw herself, frozen and holding Emily.

"This is it," she said. "This is the one."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here's the latest!**

 **Once again I'm gonna beg for reviews :P**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

The memory started playing and a man moved away from a control panel, having just deactivated Chloe's chryo-pod . A young boy was following him. He looked no older than ten.

"Dad what are we doing here?" The boy asked, looking into the other pods. They could tell by his voice he was afraid of being in the vault.

"I told you, Jesse, The Institute want this baby, so we're going to save her," the man said. Inside the pod, Chloe has already woken up and was staring, confused and afraid, at the man.

"Like you did with me?" He asked.

"Yeah," the man replied.

"Can't the lady come with us?" Jesse asked.

"We don't know if we can trust her," the man said, still trying to figure out how to open the pod. "She might work for the Institute. You never know. Right," he said, ready to hit unlock, his hand resting on the handle. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Jesse said, moving closer.

The man opened the door of the pod and in one quick motion he grabbed Emily and handed her off to Jesse. It took Chloe a second to realise what had happened and then she surged forward, trying to get out of the pod. He pushed her back, hard and then closed the pod before she could try and get out again.

"I'm sorry," he said as he locked the pod and reactivated it.

The memory ended.

"We're going to bring you out now, okay Chloe?" Amari said after almost a minute of silence.

"Okay," Chloe said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Walk over to the computer on that desk and watch the screen," she said, typing on her computer again.

Chloe walked over, avoiding looking at herself in the pod, and stared at the screen on the desk. On the screen was the same 'Please Wait' image that had been on before.

The others watched as their screen went black, and Chloe opened her eyes in the pod.

Dr. Amari went over to her and opened the lid before helping her out.

"I'm sorry you had to re-live that," she said. She sat Chloe on one of the sofas and checked her over. "Are you okay?"

Chloe nodded.

"Do you know how long ago that was?" Chloe asked.

"About fifteen years," Amari said.

Chloe nodded again, trying to process everything she'd seen.

"Chlo'?" Beca asked moving towards her. "Are you-"

Chloe cut her off by bursting into tears.

"Hey," Beca said softly, quickly pulling her into a hug. Pain shot through her shoulder as Chloe hugged her back, but she ignored it. "We'll find her."

"If she's still alive," Chloe said, between sobs. "Fifteen years she's been out here."

"She will be," Beca said. "It sounds like that guy wanted to protect her. And if she's even half as strong as you are, then she'll be okay."

Chloe let Beca go and wiped her eyes. "Thank you," she said, softly. She took a second to compose herself. "What did he mean when he said the Institute wanted her?"

"Before they were destroyed, the Institute was a scientific organization," Nick said. "They were known for making human synths. I was one of the early ones. They took memories from the real Nick Valentine and gave them to me. They got rid of me once I was out-dated. People were terrified of them. The Institute would kidnap people in the middle of the night and replace them with synths that were so life-like you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. People were afraid and paranoid. But a few years ago they were destroyed. And it sounds like this man was able to stop them from getting Emily."

"Why would they have been after her?" She asked.

"Well she was probably the only child left who had been born before the war. They've probably never had such a blank slate before."

"So what's our next move?" Beca asked.

"Find out who this guys is," Nick said.

Amari handed him a photograph of the man who'd taken Emily.

"Where do we start?" Chloe asked.

"Luckily for us, we're in Goodneighbour. Everyone who wants to stay hidden ends up in here at one time or another," Nick said. "Let's go meet the locals."

That night they went from bar to bar, showing the picture to everyone they met.

The bars were rough and most people were reluctant to speak to them. Those that did simply shook their head at the picture.

Beca had spent the night with one hand gripping her bat and the other resting protectively on Chloe's back, eyeing everyone with suspicion.

After hours and hours of no luck, Chloe was beginning to lose hope. The bar they were in had started emptying as people returned home. While Nick and Beca were still talking to a group of men who looked suspiciously like raiders, she went and sat at the bar and put her head in her hands. She was exhausted and the knot of anxiety she'd had in the pit of her stomach ever since she'd woken up in the vault was getting worse.

"You look like you need a drink," the bartender said.

Normally Chloe would have said no, but when he poured a shot of whiskey and placed it in front of her, she drank it without hesitation.

"Thanks," she said, wincing slightly as it burned her throat.

"What brings you to Goodneighbour?" He asked. "You don't look like the kind of girl who would hang around here. And I mean that as a compliment." He poured her another drink.

She drank again. "Around fifteen years ago this man took my baby while we were cryogenically frozen," she said, putting the photograph on the bar. "Apparently no one here has ever seen him before." She was already beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol which, considering she hadn't had a drink for the last 200 odd years and had barely eaten for the past few days, was understandable.

The man gave a low whistle. "That's heavy," he said, before picking up the photograph and studying it. He put the photo back with a shake of the head. "Never seen him before I'm afraid."

"Didn't think so," Chloe said, feeling defeated. She turned around to look for Beca and saw that her and Nick's discussion with the raiders was getting heated. One of them stood up and towered over Beca, trying to intimidate her. She saw Beca wince as he pushed her shoulder. Dogmeat had started growling.

"You and your friends should get going," the bartender said.

"Do you want anything for the drinks?" Chloe asked, getting unsteadily to her feet.

"I'd just rather not have my bar full of blood," he said. He took a baseball bat from behind the bar and hit it against the top of the bar. The argument stopped and they looked at him. "Enough," he said. He looked at Nick. "Take these girls out of here before there's trouble."

Beca looked like she wanted to argue but Nick put a hand on her uninjured shoulder and steered her towards the door. Chloe followed close behind.

"No luck then I take it?" Chloe asked. Beca shook her head.

"One of them must have known something," she said, scowling. "They hadn't even looked at the picture before they said no."

"We'll try again tomorrow," Nick said. "There's plenty of people left to ask."

They headed back to the Memory Den where Dr. Amari said they could spend the night. Because Nick didn't need to sleep, he insisted that Beca and Chloe should take the bedroom.

The room they were staying in was tiny, and the two twin beds were jammed so tightly inside that they practically formed a double.

Chloe saw Beca wince again as she struggled to take off her armor.

"Let me help," Chloe said, moving to sit beside her. She could feel Beca gazing at her as she struggled to un-fasten the leather armor.

As she watched her fiddle with the buckle, she wondered how it had taken her this long to notice just how beautiful Chloe's eyes were.

"Having some trouble?" Beca asked, smirking slightly.

Chloe laughed, embarrassed. "A bit," she said.

Ignoring the pain, Beca quickly un-did the straps that held her chest piece on, and allowed Chloe to help her out of it. She then helped Chloe take off her own.

"Does it hurt?" Chloe asked as Beca closed her eyes and rolled her shoulder back.

"Not too much," she said. "So how much have you had to drink?"

"How did-"

"It's a buckle, Chlo', not a straight jacket," Beca said, still smirking.

Chloe blushed slightly. "I had two small ones."

"You should be careful drinking in dives like that," Beca said. "The stuff the sell isn't always radiation free."

Chloe didn't speak for a few seconds. She just looked at Beca and the slight concern in her eyes. She felt a rush of affection towards her.

"You're good at taking care of people," she said, before moving back onto her own bed. It was Beca's turn to blush now. "Thank you for today. In fact, thank you for every day so far. I wouldn't have made it this far without you."

"You don't have to keep thanking me for being a decent human being," Beca said. "I'm just doing what any other person would do."

"No you aren't," Chloe said, lying down on her side, propping her head up with her hand. "You've been amazing."

"I think that's the alcohol talking," Beca said, her cheeks burning.

"It isn't," Chloe said. "I'm just telling you the truth, Becs. And the truth is you've gone above and beyond what any other person would have done to help me."

"Yeah well," Beca said, lying down so she was staring up at the ceiling, "maybe I like you."

Chloe easily reached across the gap between their beds and rested her hand on Beca's.

"Maybe I like you too," she said.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: A bit of a filler chapter because I'm tired and lonely and I wanted to write something fluffy. I think this fic could use some fluff anyway :P**

 **Please keep reviewing. I know I say this every chapter but it really does help :)**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters.**

* * *

"Do you think she calls him dad?" Chloe asked later that night.

They had been talking quietly for the past few hours, their hands still linked, resting on Beca's bed.

"I don't know," Beca said. "Would you want her to?"

"I don't know," Chloe said. "It seems wrong. But I don't like the idea of her having no father. And if she'd stayed with me, she'd never have had one. Maybe this is better."

"Having no father is better than having a bad one," Beca said.

"Do you think he's been a bad one?" Chloe asked.

"He didn't seem like he would be. But that doesn't mean she's better off with him," Beca said. "She needs her mom too."

"Maybe I wouldn't have been a good mom. I always worried before she was born that I wouldn't know what to do. I mean, I'm only 21. What do I know about raising a kid? I used to stay up all night and just stare down at my big pregnant belly, just freaking out. Tom was pretty good at calming me down when he was around. He was always level-headed. And when she was born he was so happy, and so good with her. And then..." Beca squeezed her hand. "And then he died. And I didn't know what to do. I don't think I'd have been a good mom."

"What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up in that vault?" Beca asked her, her thumb tracing gently over the back of Chloe's hand.

"Emily," Chloe said. "But that doesn't mean I'd have been-"

"And who is the person you've done all this for?" Beca asked, cutting her off. "You've fought off dogs and ghouls and raiders. You've walked for days. You... You let us watch some of your most painful memories, for god's sake. Who did you do it for?"

"Emily," Chloe said again, her voice catching in her throat. There was a look in Beca's eyes she hadn't seen before, and she couldn't quite place what it was. But it was powerful, and it made her feel something.

"That makes you more of a mom that most," Beca said. "You're risking your life everyday to find her. And it's okay to feel scared. It's okay to make mistakes. You love your daughter, and there's no doubt in my mind that you'd do anything to keep her safe. When you see her again, I know you'll be a great mom."

Tears had started making there way down Chloe's cheeks, and Beca moved over to her bed. Chloe sat up and allowed herself to be pulled into a hug.

"I'm so glad you found me that day," Chloe said softly.

"Me too," Beca said, placing a tentative kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

After Chloe had calmed down, Beca returned to her bed and the two girls fell asleep.

Chloe woke up not long after. She attributed the pounding in her head to the two shots of whiskey she'd had, but the shaking in her hands came from the dream she'd just had.

She dreamt she was home. Her old home before any of this had happened. Everything was clean and safe and in her dream she'd sighed with relief as she walked around the house. In the living room, Tom was feeding Emily and watching TV, and in the kitchen was the smell of a chicken roasting.

 _It must have all been a dream,_ she thought. _A horrible dream._

She felt a pang in her chest as she thought of Beca, but surely this was where she was meant to be? In her home with her family, not in some wasteland.

But it wasn't her home.

She could see that now, as she moved through the rooms. The paint began peeling off the walls. The windows cracked and shattered. The once varnished wooden floor beneath her feet began rotting away. Furniture fell apart and everything became layered with dust and cob-webs. The TV only displayed the 'Please Wait' sign. Tom was now a heap of bones on the broken down sofa. A teenage girl she didn't recognise was staring at her with an undisguised hatred. She could hear the angry shrieking of ghouls in the distance. Radroaches began scuttling up the walls and along the floors. The man who's picture she had in her pocket was pulling the girl away by her arm.

She turned around in the wreck that was once her home and saw Beca on the ground, a bullet hole in her shoulder and a pool of blood surrounding her.

She woke up, and was relieved to see the small brunette still sleeping on the bed beside her.

She sat up carefully, trying not to wake her, and rested her head in her hands. She forced herself to breath slowly and tried to rid herself of what she'd seen, as well as fighting the urge to be sick.

She didn't hear Beca get up, but soon felt a hand on her back and the bed dip beside her.

"Drink this slowly," she said, handing her some water. "Bad dream?"

Chloe nodded, gratefully accepting the water. Beca slowly rubbed her back as she drank.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Beca asked, acutely aware she had been in Chloe's spot only a few days before.

Chloe shook her head.

"Okay," Beca said. "Then we should get back to sleep."

"I don't... I don't want to dream again," Chloe said.

"I know," Beca said. "Trust me, I really know how much nightmares suck. But you need to sleep. The dreams can't hurt you, and I'll be right here when you wake up."

Chloe felt another rush of affection for her.

"You've changed a lot, you know?" Chloe said, watching as Beca pushed their beds together so she could lie beside her.

"I haven't," Beca said, smiling slightly. "Is this okay?" She asked gesturing to the beds. Chloe nodded and Beca climbed onto her side. Chloe lay down next to her and Beca pulled the thin blanket so it covered both of them. She began absentmindedly playing with Chloe's hair. Brushing strands from her face and tucking them behind her ear.

"You have," she said. "When we first met you were really closed off and a little mean."

Beca laughed and shook her head.

"I wasn't mean."

"You were kinda mean," Chloe said, smiling too.

"Look, I'm always closed off when I first meet people. I've always been that way. But once I trust you then I guess I let down my guard. It was the same with Nick, and then all the girls back in Sanctuary, and now you. It doesn't mean I've changed. It just means I trust you," Beca said, "and like you."

"Well, I trust and like you too," Chloe said.

They were quiet for a few seconds, just content to look at each other.

"I know that all your focus and energy is on finding Emily right now," Beca said, putting her arm around Chloe so her head was resting on the brunette's chest. She felt a twinge in her shoulder but she managed to get into a comfortable position. "And I know this isn't the time to talk about it... But when I say that I like you, I mean I... _Like_ like you. And I'd like to be more than friends with you. That sounded lame," she added, laughing at herself.

"I like you too, Becs," Chloe said. "And when things have settled down, I'd love to be more than friends with you. But finding Emily comes first."

"Of course it does," Beca said. "I wouldn't expect anything less. Now enough talk, time to go back to sleep."

As Chloe fell asleep, her head on Beca's chest, the brunette stayed awake.

Staring at the ceiling she thought, _I could definitely get used to this._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I know I know I'm super late with this one. I gave myself a bit of a break to de-stress and shit and then I struggled writing this and tbh I'm not totally happy with how it turned out.**

 **Here it is anyway, please please please review.**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

The next morning, Chloe woke up with a pounding headache and her stomach was churning. It had been a long time since she'd felt hungover.

Beca couldn't help but smirk at her as she made her eat and drink something.

"Remind me not to drink random shots of whiskey in the future," Chloe said, trying to eat the food without bringing it back up.

"Sure thing," Beca said.

The things they'd said to each other the night before still hung in the air.

"Feel better?" Beca asked once Chloe had finished.

Chloe smiled and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Much better."

They dressed and met up with Nick before heading back out into Goodneighbour, showing the man's photograph to everyone they saw.

They weren't even surprised when every single person said they'd never seen him before.

"Something's going on here," Nick said, as they sat in one of the bars to re-group. "The Commonwealth isn't that big of a place. And for the most part, when people find a place to settle, they don't move on. So even if he hasn't been here in over 15 years, someone would have seen him."

"Maybe he never came here," Beca said, absentmindedly scratching Dogmeat behind the ears as she thought. "We know he was traveling with at least one kid. Two when he got Emily. It's not the most kid friendly place. Wouldn't it be more likely for him to go to Diamond City?"

"I would say yes, but I've never seen him before. And you know me, I know everyone who comes in and out of that city, it's part of the job," Nick said.

"Well, we're not going to find him by sitting here," Chloe said, feeling frustrated again. "We should at least try and see if anyone in Diamond City knew him. Maybe he slipped under your radar, Nick."

Nick shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot."

They stood to leave.

"I should try and get in contact with Aubrey before we move on. Just to keep her updated," Beca said. "I'll meet you guys back at the Memory Den."

* * *

Back in Sanctuary, it was Fat Amy's turn to wait by the radio tower. This wasn't usual practice, but Aubrey had started getting increasingly worried, so she started to make sure that there was always someone by the radio in case Beca tried to contact them.

In Fat Amy's opinion, it was totally unnecessary. When someone radioed in you could hear them no matter where you were in Sanctuary. But if it stopped Aubrey from stress puking, then she wasn't going to complain.

It was near the end of her shift when a voice crackled through.

"Goodneighbour calling Sanctuary," the voice said.

"Sanctuary receiving," Fat Amy replied. She waved over Aubrey who had, of course, heard the voice from where she was pumping water.

"Amy? Is that you?" The voice said.

"Sure is," Fat Amy replied. "That you, shorty?"

"Yeah," Beca said, sounding relieved to hear her voice.

Aubrey took the radio from Amy's hand.

"Beca?!"

"Hey," she said. "How are you?"

"Beca, when are you coming home?" Aubrey asked.

"I don't know, 'Bree," Beca sighed. "Soon I hope."

"We need you here, Beca. Don't forget that."

"I know, Aubrey. Look, I've got to go. I'll radio in when I can," she said.

"Stay safe," Aubrey said.

"You too."

* * *

Beca made it back to the Memory Den to find Chloe and Nick waiting near the entrance. She saw a group of men who were dressed similar to raiders further back and she wanted to put some distance between them.

"Ready to go?" Beca asked. She was eager to get back to Diamond City. Goodneighbour had always made her nervous.

"Let's do it, kid," Nick said, standing up from one of the dusty red sofas.

As they headed towards the door, it swung open in front of them. A second group of men walked into the Memory Den, blocking their path out.

"Excuse me," Beca said, trying to move past them.

One of them put a hand on her uninjured shoulder and firmly pushed her back. She sighed and her hand tightened around her bat.

"We don't want any trouble boys," Nick said.

"Neither do we," one of the men said. The group took a step forward, forcing Beca, Chloe and Nick to take a step back.

Their backs hit the first group who had stood and formed a wall behind them.

"Look, we're leaving. Can you please just let us past?" Chloe asked.

"Why are you asking questions about Michael Brookes?" The man asked.

"Who?" Beca replied, looking between the men, who had now taken their guns from their holsters.

"Don't play dumb," he said. "You've been showing his picture to everyone here. We want to know why?"

"This guy?" Chloe asked, with a surge of fear and excitement. She pulled the photo from her pocket.

"Yes," the man said, looking to the other men around them. "That guy."

A second later, and Beca felt a surge of pain as her arm was forced behind her back. She squeezed her eyes shut as it felt like fireworks were exploding behind them. She tried to swing her bat but whoever had hold of her took it from her with ease.

She could tell by the sounds of struggling that it was happening to the others too, so she forced her eyes open. Someone was pointing a gun at her, and Dogmeat was growling furiously.

"Get your mutt to calm down, or we'll shoot it," he said.

"He'll calm down if you get that gun out of my face," Beca said, trying not to show how much pain she was in.

One of the men cocked their gun and pointed it at Dogmeat.

"Wait!" Beca said, panicked. "Don't shoot him. Dogmeat, it's okay boy." He whimpered slightly. "It's okay."

"What's going on?" Chloe asked, as they began forcing them to walk out of the Memory Den.

"We're going to see our boss," he said.

"The man from the photo?" Chloe asked, once again excited and terrified at the prospect of finding her daughter.

"No," he said. "His son. Jesse."

As they walked through the doors and entered the street, Dogmeat made his escape. One of the men fired a few shots after him but he missed.

"Just let him go," the man said, shrugging.

Beca felt a surge of hope knowing that Dogmeat would go and find help.

"You know," Beca said, struggling against the man who was holding her, "you could have just told us you knew the guy and we would have just come with you."

The man didn't answer. He just kept walking, leading the group to the outskirts of Goodneighbour.

"Like, seriously dude, I got shot a few days ago so could you maybe ease up," she said. The man holding her simply twisted her arm further.

"Look, just let her and Nick go," Chloe said, as she watched Beca getting paler. "I'm the one who was asking about this guy."

"Chloe-"

"They have nothing to do with it," Chloe said, ignoring Beca's interruption.

The man still didn't speak. Soon they reached the entrance of an old subway station, and they started descending the stairs. At the bottom was a door.

Beca hated being underground like this. She hated being trapped. She had a horrible feeling that once the door closed behind them, they wouldn't be coming back up.

The reached the bottom of the broken down escalators.

She glanced over at Chloe, who looked just as afraid. She tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"It's okay," she said. "We'll be fine."

The door closed behind them.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Surprise update? I stayed up until like 3am this morning writing a few more chapters of this so I don't fall behind again.**

 **Please review, I can't beg you enough, they're super helpful and they keep me motivated to keep writing.**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Their weapons and supplies were taken from them, before they were forced to walk further into the old subway station.

The pain in Beca's shoulder was getting worse, and she'd stopped making smart-ass comments to the man holding her.

After walking through tunnels and passageways, they reached a door that was guarded by two more men.

"Jesse in here?" One of the men holding them asked. One of the guards nodded.

The man moved forward and pushed open the doors. Beca, Chloe, and Nick were pushed in after him.

The room resembled an old train station's control room. It was full of desks and screens which probably once showed security footage from all the subway lines in the area.

"Why are you asking questions about Michael Brookes?" A voice said. They couldn't see where it was coming from, but there was an old security camera pointed at them, with a speaker next to it.

"Because fifteen years ago he took my daughter from me," Chloe said, sounding angry now. "I was trapped in a vault, and he came and took her out of my arms. And now he's hiding in this place. Getting his men to attack women when they ask questions about him." It was silent in the room now. "I want my daughter back."

"You were attacked?" The voice asked.

"As good as," Chloe said.

"I told you not to use force," the voice said, sounding annoyed. "I'm sorry. But these men... They're used to handling things in a different way."

"Why did you bring us here?" Beca asked. Chloe turned to look at her, alarmed to hear how drained she sounded. The man holding her was still gripping her shoulder tightly. He didn't seem to be aware that both Nick and Chloe had been let go. Chloe marched over and pulled his arm off. He looked surprised to find it still there.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked, softly. Beca nodded, and gestured behind her.

Chloe turned and saw a man had entered the room. He was a little older than they were. He had brown hair and dark eyes.

"Jesse?" Chloe asked. It had been fifteen years, but he still looked like small scared boy from her memory. "You were there when he took her, weren't you?" He nodded.

"He did the same to me," he said. "My parents were drunks. They sold me to the Institute so they could get more caps to spend on booze. Michael... My dad... rescued me before they had the chance to take me."

"Where is he now?" Chloe asked.

"He died," Jesse said. "After he saved your daughter. And other kids who were going to be taken by the Institute. He built up this place so we'd never have to leave. He hired all these men so we'd be safe. And they stayed after he died because they need a safe place too."

"He didn't rescue my daughter, he kidnapped her," Chloe said, furious now.

"If it wasn't for him, she would have ended up at the Institute," Jesse replied. "Whether you knew about it or not, Emily was in danger. And now, you're here to kill me, right?"

"What?"

"I should have known you'd try to find us. You held onto her so tight. Michael should have probably killed you but he was getting soft," Jesse said. He was speaking calmly but Chloe could see fear in his eyes. She imagined him hiding in here for years, terrified of the outside world. And now the outside world had found him and, in his eyes, wanted revenge.

"I'm not here to kill you," Chloe said. "How could I? You've taken our weapons, and you outnumber us. I just want to see my daughter. I want to take her home."

Jesse shook his head. "She's safe here," he said.

"Why don't we ask her, and see what she wants?" Beca asked, getting more and more annoyed at Jesse.

"She's happy without you," Jesse said. "She doesn't want to leave."

It all happened in seconds.

Chloe surged to the side and grabbed a gun from one of the guards' holsters and aimed it at Jesse.

Beca felt the cold steel of a gun jammed against the side of her head, and saw others point their weapons at Chloe.

"Chloe," Jesse said. "That's your name right? Chloe Beale? Don't do anything stupid, Chloe." He gestured behind her and she glanced to see Beca with a gun held against her head. "You've already said that we outnumber you. If you don't lower that," he pointed at her gun now, "then your friends die. And so will you. And you'll never see Emily."

"I could shoot you before they did that," Chloe said, her voice shaking.

"And then what would happen? Even if you killed me, my guards would kill you all," he said. "And I don't think you're going to shoot me."

"Are you willing to risk it?" Chloe asked, avoiding looking at Beca.

"Are you?"

Beca was afraid now. More afraid than she had been since they'd been taken from the Memory Den. She knew Chloe would do anything to get Emily back. She was desperate. She didn't want to die down here, underground. She wanted to tell Chloe that this wasn't the way to do things, but she couldn't find the words.

"Put the gun down, Chloe, and we'll talk," he said.

Chloe didn't move.

Jesse sighed. "Okay," he said. "Kill one of them. The synth."

"No!" Beca cried.

"Wait," Chloe said. She dropped her gun. "Don't hurt them. I just want to see her."

Jesse bent down to pick up the gun, and he tucked it in his waistband.

He opened a door to his right, and a girl stepped into the room.

She was tall. Taller than she'd been expecting. She had Tom's brown hair and dark eyes, and she was beautiful.

Chloe felt like she was dreaming. She hadn't imagined seeing her so soon. She wasn't prepared for this sudden rush of emotions.

"Mom?" Emily asked, her voice shaking slightly. "You're her, right? Michael had a picture of you that he'd show me sometimes."

"Yeah," Chloe said, her voice a whisper. Tears had started falling down her cheeks. "Yeah, I'm your mom." She moved forward and pulled Emily into a hug. She felt her daughter hugging her back, gripping her tightly. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too," Emily said, half crying, half laughing. "I've been waiting for this since I was a little kid."

"I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you," Chloe said, breaking apart and holding her daughter's face in her hands.

"It wasn't your fault," Emily said. "I'm just glad you're here now."

Beca watched them embrace again with a smile on her face. She almost felt like she was intruding on their reunion, so she turned her attention to something else. She reached up and gingerly touched the bandage on her shoulder. Her stomach sank when she felt that it was wet with blood.

"Well, as moving as this is," Jesse said, "we need to decide what happens next."

"That all depends on what Emily wants to do, doesn't it? If she wants to come with me, then you aren't going to stop her," Chloe said.

"Mom, I don't want to go with you," Emily said, looking down at the ground now.

"You... You don't?" Chloe asked, feeling her heart break.

"It's not that I don't want to be with you!" Emily said, quickly. "It's that I don't want to leave here. I don't want to go outside. I want you to stay here, with me."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Here's chapter 15!**

 **I don't seem to be sticking to a regular upload schedule, but never mind!**

 **I don't wanna beg for reviews again, but my last chapter got like 3, so... Please? Help me out?**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

"You want me to stay?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah," Emily said. "I want to be with you, mom. But I can't leave here. It's safe. We have food and water and protection. My friends are here."

"There's a whole world out there, Emily. I know it might seem scary, but you don't really want to spend the rest of your life down here, do you?" Chloe asked.

"Do you really think it's safe to be out there?" Emily asked.

Chloe thought. She thought about being attacked twice by dogs within hours of leaving the vault. She thought about killing ghouls on their first night away from Sanctuary. She thought about Beca, and the bullet wound in her shoulder. Dragging her backwards from the endless streams of raiders.

And then she thought about the Minutemen who came to their rescue. She thought of Dr. Sun, saving Beca's life for free. She thought of Nick, dropping everything to help her. And Dr. Amari. And, of course, Beca herself.

"It's not entirely safe," Chloe said. "But that doesn't mean you should hide away from it." She looked at Beca now. "There are a lot of good people out there."

Beca tried to give her a smile, but she wasn't sure if she managed it. Chloe had already turned back to face Emily, so didn't see it slip from her face.

Beca was beginning to feel sick. She really needed a stimpak, or at least some water, but their supplies had been taken. She moved away from the guards and took a seat on the floor, her back against the wall.

"You okay, kid?" Nick asked quietly, sitting beside her.

"Fine," Beca lied. "Those two have a lot to talk about so I figured I should make myself comfortable."

"Ah ha," Nick said. "And this has nothing to do with the blood soaking through your bandage?"

"I'm fine, Nick," she said. "And even if I wasn't, there's not a lot I can do about it, is there?"

Chloe and Emily were still talking, oblivious to everyone else.

"I'm sorry, mom, but I just can't leave," Emily said. "I don't want to go outside, and Jesse said I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to."

"Of course you don't have to," Chloe said. "I'm not going to force you to do anything. I just hoped that you'd want to come back home with me and Beca."

"You could stay here," Emily said. "Both of you. I'm sure Jesse wouldn't mind." She turned to look at him.

"I don't see how that would be a problem," he said. "She could join the guards." He nodded towards Beca. "She looks tough."

"You really want me to stay?" Chloe asked.

"I really do," Emily said. "I've just gotten you back, I don't want to lose you."

"Beca, what do you think?" Chloe asked her. She couldn't deny that the idea of being safe inside here was appealing.

"Chloe," Beca said, struggling to her feet, "I can't stay here." She felt awful as she watched the smile drop from Chloe's face. "I have a family back at Sanctuary. I can't abandon them. I'm sorry."

"We should talk," Chloe said, feeling her heart sink like a stone.

"Yeah," Beca said, feeling just as devastated. She'd imagined bringing Chloe and her daughter back to Sanctuary. She'd imagined them living happily together, continuing to rebuild their community. She'd imagined them, maybe, being together together. Being a couple. A family.

They left the room, still being closely watched by guards.

"Beca, I know last night I said that I wanted to be more than friends, but..." Chloe trailed off.

"She's your daughter," Beca said, finishing her sentence. "She comes first. But I don't think either of you are as safe here as you think you are. I don't trust Jesse, or all these guards. They might be working for him, but I know raiders when I see them."

"I don't like him either, but he's looked after her so far. She's been safe for, what, fifteen years? I was out of the vault for fifteen minutes and I was attacked," Chloe said. She reached out and almost touched the bloodied bandage on Beca's shoulder. "Look what happened to you up there. Look what happened to you time and again."

"I'd still rather be out there," Beca said, shaking her head. "If I'm gonna die, I wanna be able to at least see the sky."

"Becs, I can't leave her," Chloe said, tears shining in her eyes.

Beca nodded and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "I can't leave my family either. I wanted..." She shook her head again. "It doesn't matter."

"Tell me," Chloe said.

"I wanted you to be a part of that family. Emily too," she said. "But I get it. If Emily can't leave, then you should stay with her."

Chloe looked at her, while Beca stared at the ground. She was blinking rapidly, trying to hold back tears, as she ran a hand through her hair.

Chloe cupped her face in her hands, and kissed her.

Beca kissed back for a few seconds before pulling away, tears running down her cheeks now.

"I'll never see you again, will I?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I... I don't know," Chloe said.

"I don't want out first kiss to be our last one," Beca said. "Better not to do it at all."

"Beca..."

"I'm sorry, Chlo'," she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "But I... you know..."

"You what, Beca?" Chloe asked, crying herself now.

"Don't make me say it," Beca said. "Not now that I have to leave you. I can't say it, now. And I can't kiss you. Because if I kiss you, then I'll never be able to leave."

"The don't leave," Chloe said, gripping Beca's hands in her own.

"I have to," Beca said, pulling them away.

She moved past her, heading for the door.

"That thing you can't say," Chloe said, stopping her. "Well, I can't say it either. I want to, but I can't."

A second later, Beca was kissing her. Her hands were in Chloe's hair, and Chloe's hands were on Beca's waist, pulling her closer.

"Please come with me," Beca whispered, their foreheads pressed together.

"I can't," Chloe said back.

"It's getting late," Nick's voice said from behind them. "If you're coming with me, then we have to leave now."

Beca closed her eyes for a second, trying to hold onto this final moment with Chloe.

She felt sick.

When they'd woken up together that morning, her arm still wrapped around Chloe's shoulder, she never imagined that she'd have to say goodbye to her the same day.

She thought they had all the time in the world together. It hadn't even occurred to her that Emily would want to stay where she was.

She shook her head slightly.

She'd been stupid to allow herself to dream about a happily-ever-after with Chloe. You don't get those kinds of endings in the wasteland. You do what you have to do to survive, and eventually you die. Preferably with a gun in your hand.

"I'm coming, Nick," Beca said, opening her eyes but not looking at Chloe as she moved away from her.

Chloe, Emily, and Jesse walked up the stairs to the entrance with them, along with a couple of guards.

At Emily's insistence, Jesse gave back their weapons and supplies, but made sure the guards kept their guns trained on them so they didn't try anything.

Both Beca and Chloe were struggling to keep their tears at bay as they said their final goodbye.

"I'm sorry I'm breaking you guys up," Emily said, looking between them. "You seem like really good friends."

Beca gave her a smile before patting her on the shoulder.

"Just remember that you and your mom are welcome at my place anytime," she said. She looked at Chloe. "Take care of each other."

Chloe nodded and pulled Beca into a final hug.

"Stay safe," she said.

"You too," Beca replied.

They broke apart and Beca handed Chloe the flare gun.

"If you ever change your mind," she said, her hand still on Chloe's, "fire this, and the Minutemen will help you get back to Sanctuary."

"Thank you," Chloe said, taking the flare gun from her, knowing she would probably never use it.

Beca lifted her backpack onto her back and picked up her bat.

Chloe turned to Nick. "Thank you for everything, Nick."

"My pleasure," he said. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her."

"Please do," Chloe said.

And then the door swung open, and Beca and Nick were gone.

Just like that.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Emily asked.

Chloe nodded, because she didn't trust her voice. The group made their way back downstairs.

Away from Beca.

"Ready to go, kid?" Nick asked.

Beca had taken a stimpak from the backpack and stuck it in her arm.

"Yeah," she said, sighing with relief as the pain began ebbing away. "Let's go home."

As they walked away from the subway station, Dogmeat ran up to them, followed by a few members of the Minutemen.

"Everything okay ma'am?" One of them asked.

"Fine," Beca said, crouching down to stroke Dogmeat.

"Would you fellas mind escorting us back to Sanctuary?" Nick asked, knowing they could move more safely and quickly with the Minutemen with them.

"Of course," one of them said, helping Beca stand.

"Nick, you don't need to come back with me," Beca said. "We an walk you back to Diamond City."

"Diamond City will be fine without me for a few more days," Nick said, waving her off. "I want to see this settlement of yours. I've heard some good things."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Slightly shorter chapter this time, hope you all like it anyway.**

 **A big thank you to those that have been reviewing. I'd really appreciate it if you could keep it up :)**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

They walked for two days, only stopping to eat and rest a handful of times. Their supplies had run out, but they were close enough to Sanctuary that Beca wasn't worried.

Not that she could focus enough to worry.

Her arm was constantly throbbing, but even than wasn't enough to distract her from the absence of Chloe.

She felt pure relief when she saw Sanctuary growing in the distance. She knew that soon, Chloe would be pushed from her thoughts. Soon Aubrey would be here, and she wouldn't have to keep it together for much longer.

They were just passed the security turrets and defenses when Aubrey spotted them.

"Beca!" She shouted, rushing over to the group.

"Hey," Beca said softly, her legs threatening to give way.

Aubrey held her at arms length as she examined every inch of her.

There were tear tracks down her face, and a bloody bandage wrapped around her shoulder. She looked exhausted, and her pip-boy was saying she needed food and water. She looked like she was barely able to stand.

Aubrey pulled her into a hug, and Beca hugged her back tightly, burying her face into the blonde's shoulder.

Aubrey didn't mention Chloe's absence, fearing the worst, and just held the small brunette for a few moments, beyond relieved to have her friend back.

"She needs rest," Nick said to her. "It's been a tough few days."

Aubrey nodded and started leading Beca back towards the main house.

"Is Chloe...?" She mouthed to Nick, practically holding Beca up now.

"She's fine," Nick said. "I'll explain everything soon. I'm Nick Valentine, by the way."

"Aubrey Posen," Aubrey replied. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Likewise," Nick said, taking Beca's other arm and helping Aubrey take her into the house.

Aubrey called to Stacie as they headed for Beca's room, and the tall brunette followed them.

Beca hadn't taken any of this in.

She barely even registered she was back in her own room, and that Aubrey was slowly sitting her on the edge of her bed.

She was beyond tired, and the pain in her arm had made her feel sick again.

She could hear Dogmeat's soft whining, and she tried to reach out and stoke him but her arms were like lead.

She just wanted to sleep. To not think for a few hours.

She didn't even feel the stimpak get injected in her arm.

"Beca?" Stacie asked her, clicking her fingers in front of Beca's face. "Can you hear me?" Beca nodded. "I need you to drink this for me, okay? And then you can go to sleep."

"Okay," she said. She drank the water quickly, and handed the empty can back to Stacie.

"Good job," Stacie said, as she began un-bucking Beca's armor. "It's nice to see you Becs."

"You too," Beca said. It was a relief to be back in Sanctuary, and now that the pain had started to ebb away, all she wanted to do was lie down.

She could hear Nick telling Aubrey what had happened, but she didn't join in.

Stacie pulled off Beca's boots, before she washed her hands and began un-wrapping the bandage on Beca's arm.

She heard Stacie sigh.

"I got shot," Beca mumbled.

"I can see that," Stacie said. "You pulled too hard on your stitches. It's all a bit of a mess. I'll have to clean this up," she said. "It's gonna hurt a bit."

"Can't you just leave it for now?" Beca moaned.

"It'll get infected, Becs," Stacie said. "I promise I'll be quick."

Beca mumbled something which Stacie assumed meant she could carry on.

She carefully cleaned the area, apologising when Beca winced in pain.

"Can't you give her something?" Aubrey asked.

Stacie shook her head. "Our supplies are low. I could give her a shot of whiskey, but that might do more harm than good."

"I would like some whiskey," Beca said, feeling relieved when she saw Aubrey smile. She didn't like her looking so worried.

"You're a pain in my ass, Mitchell," Aubrey said. "Gallivanting off to Diamond City. Getting yourself shot. Worrying me sick."

"You worry about me too much," Beca said, thankful Aubrey was distracting her from what Stacie was doing.

"Can you blame me?" Aubrey asked, smirking. "You're the most accident prone person I've ever met."

"In my defense," Beca said. "This wasn't an accident. They were trying to shoot me. Although, I suppose they were aiming for my head so hitting me in the shoulder was probably an accident."

Aubrey didn't seem to find that bit as funny, and she looked dangerously close to stress puking. Beca sighed, and reached out to take Aubrey's hand with her free one.

"I'm okay, 'Bree," she said.

"Are you?" Aubrey asked. "Because you don't look okay. You look like you're only just keeping it together. You could barely even stand when we brought you in here."

"I know," she said. "The stimpak perked me up a bit but I know I'm gonna crash again soon. I'm tired." She wiped away tears impatiently. "I miss her."

"Did something happen between you two?" Aubrey asked, wishing she could help her.

Beca opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter," Beca said. "It's not like I'll get to see her again."

"You don't know that," Aubrey said.

"Her daughter won't want to leave that place, and Chloe will never leave her," Beca said. "Stace," she added, "how much longer?"

"Nearly done," Stacie said, cleaning the area for a second time.

"Good," Beca said. Aubrey was still looking at her, her eyes full of worry. "Look, Chloe found her daughter," Beca said. "That's why we left in the first place. So... mission accomplished I guess."

"I'm sorry she didn't come back with you," Aubrey said.

"Me too," Beca said.

"You're done," Stacie said, wrapping her shoulder in a new bandage. "Do you want another stimpak?"

Beca shook her head. "You said our supplies are low."

"Yeah but you're in pain, Becs," Stacie said.

"I'm fine," Beca said.

"Give it to her," Aubrey said.

Stacie stuck it in her arm before Beca could protest.

"God dammit," she said, half annoyed, half relieved. "Don't waste that shit."

"You aren't a waste, Beca," Aubrey said.

Stacie packed up the rest of the supplies, and took Nick one of the empty rooms so he could have some time to himself.

Dogmeat had curled up at the foot of Beca's bed, and Aubrey sat in the seat beside it.

"You don't have to stay," Beca said, closing her eyes as Aubrey began gently running a hand through her hair.

"Do you want me to?" Aubrey asked. Beca nodded after a pause. "Then I will."

"Thank you," Beca said.

"I'm glad you're home, Becs."

"Yeah," Beca said, finally drifting off. "Me too."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Me again!**

 **I'm gonna beg for reviews again. So please please please? :P**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters.**

* * *

Beca slept late the next day.

It wasn't like her.

Even after her first night in Sanctuary all those years ago, she was up at sunrise. True she had spent the first few hours trying to calm herself down after that first bad nightmare, but once she'd recovered enough, she was eager to help in anyway she could.

Now it was nearly 1pm, and Beca hadn't made an appearance.

Aubrey let her sleep, knowing she had had a tough few days. Every so often she checked on her, but other than that, Beca was left alone. Which she was glad of.

She had woken up several times during the morning, but didn't feel the urge to get up like she usually did. So she closed her eyes each time, and would eventually fall back to sleep.

Her dreams were filled with the usual raiders, but now she had to watch Chloe die too.

Even that didn't force her out of bed.

At half 1, Stacie came into her room and gently shook her awake.

"Sorry to wake you," she said, pretending not to notice the way Beca quickly wiped her eyes. "But I just wanted to check on your arm. And also, you should probably drink something."

She handed Beca a can of water.

"Thank you," she said, sitting up and drinking it.

"Did you sleep okay?" Stacie asked, carefully unraveling the bandage.

"Sort of," she said. "I had nightmares but I always get nightmares, so..." She shrugged.

"You really liked her, huh?" Stacie asked, checking that the new stitches she put in the night before were still holding.

"Yeah," Beca said. "I really did."

"And did she like you?" Stacie asked, re-wrapping her shoulder.

"I think so," Beca said. "But I'm glad she's back with her daughter. That's where she belongs. And this is where I belong. I'll get over this, I'm sure."

"But you don't want to get over it," Stacie said.

"I don't have a choice," Beca replied. "It is the way it is."

"Well, if you wanted to rest up for a few more hours I wouldn't blame you. Your shoulder took a lot of damage and you haven't been eating and drinking enough. But when you're ready, the others would love to see you," Stacie said.

"Thanks Stace," Beca said. "I'll be out later." She lay back down and turned her back to the door.

* * *

In the underground hideout, Chloe had finally changed out of her blue jumpsuit.

Jesse had show her a room full of clothes and told her to take what she wanted. She didn't ask where he'd gotten them, and she changed into a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. She had been drawn to the shirt immediately because it reminded her of Beca, and for the millionth time since she'd gotten here, she wished the brunette had stayed.

She couldn't blame Emily for not wanting to leave. Of course she wouldn't have wanted to leave her safe, secure home, and venture out with two strangers into the wasteland.

But that didn't stop her from missing Beca with everything she had.

"Mom, are you okay?" Emily asked her, the day after Beca had left them.

The two were in their shared room, eating a can of beans each.

After Beca had left the day before, Jesse and Emily gave Chloe a tour of the hideout which consisted of several bedrooms, and rooms stockpiled with ammunition, food, purified water, and medical supplies.

Again, Chloe didn't ask where they'd come from.

The corridors and old train tunnels that connected these rooms were dimly lit and eerie, and Chloe didn't like walking down them at all. It was a relief when they got back to the main area and Emily took her to their room.

"Mom?" Emily asked again.

"Sorry," Chloe said, smiling at her daughter. "This is all a lot to take in."

"Yeah, I guess it must be weird," she said. "It must have been scarier out there though, right?"

"It was at first I guess," Chloe said, remembering the pure fear she felt the moment she stepped foot outside. The feeling of constantly having to check over your shoulder, just waiting for something or someone to attack you. "I got used to it pretty quickly though. I mean, in my first few days I got attacked by dogs, killed some feral ghouls, and fought a group of raiders."

Emily was looking at her, wide-eyed.

Chloe laughed, softly, at her expression.

"I had Beca with me," Chloe said. "She grew up in the Commonwealth, she was prepared for anything."

"You two were pretty close, huh?" Emily asked, remembering the way they'd hugged as they said goodbye. She had felt awful splitting them up, but the idea of leaving the hideout seemed impossible to her.

"She saved my life on my first night out," Chloe said. She told Emily the story, from waking up in the vault, to being rescued from the mutant dog. She told her about how Beca had dropped everything to take her to Diamond City, and then stuck with her until they had found Emily. She didn't mention the late night conversations. She didn't talk about Beca holding her hand only two nights before, before she'd pushed the twin beds together and held her. She didn't tell her about the kiss. She didn't want to make Emily feel guilty about it.

"How come she didn't stay?" Emily asked, not suspecting their was anything more to their relationship than friendship.

"She had to get back to her settlement. Her friends need her there," Chloe said.

"But it's so much safer here," Emily replied, not understanding. "She'd been hurt out there, that wouldn't have happened here. Why wouldn't she want to be safe?"

Chloe shook her head. "She feels safer out there," she said. "I know that must seem weird to you, because outside is full of things that can kill and hurt you. But she's used to that. She knows what to do out there. She doesn't know what's down here, and she doesn't know if she can trust the people in it."

"Huh," Emily said. She hadn't considered that people would actively want to be out there. From the way Jesse tells it, everyone out there just wants somewhere like they have. That's why they have so many guards. "Do you prefer it out there?"

"I don't know," Chloe replied, truthfully. "I definitely wasn't as comfortable out there as Beca was. And I like that we're safe down here. But I didn't hate it up there. But anyway, that doesn't matter. I'm happy wherever you are. And if you want to stay down here, then that's where I'll be."

Emily smiled before looking down, playing with the ends of her shirt.

"Mom?" She asked, still looking down. "Did you know that the Institute wanted me?"

"No!" Chloe said, moving from her bed to sit beside Emily on hers. She took her daughter's hand. "I promise, I had no idea."

Emily smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "I didn't think so. Jesse said that we didn't know for sure, so we had to assume the worst. But I knew you wouldn't have done that."

"I thought we were going to be safe there," Chloe said. "That's what they told me. When they came to see me after your dad died, they said we'd gotten a place in the vault because of his service. Because he died during training. I never thought we'd even have to use the vault... And then the sirens went a few weeks later, and I grabbed you and ran. They said those pods were just for decontamination... Then the next thing I knew, you were gone, and everyone else was dead."

"You must have been so scared," Emily said, listening intently.

"I was," Chloe said. "But I was mostly scared for you. I had no idea how long I'd been there, or who had taken you. I honestly thought I'd never see you again."

"I'm so glad you found me," Emily said softly, turning and hugging her mom.

"Me too," Chloe said, hugging her back. "Have you been happy here? Did they treat you well?"

Emily nodded. "I thought about you every day though. Hoping you'd find me."

"Well I'm here now," Chloe said.

"And you won't leave, right?"

"Right. I promise."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Another filler-ish chapter but don't worry, I am building towards something.**

 **Thanks to everyone reviewing, please please please keep them coming. They really really help keep me going.**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

After a few days things started to go back to normal for Beca. She missed Chloe constantly, but being back with her friends and back in her home was a relief. She was glad to get back into the routine of living at Sanctuary.

She particularly enjoyed the more physical jobs. Things like working on their Power Armour, upgrading weapons, repairing turrets, and mending their houses helped her forget about everything else. If she could go to bed in the evening with an ache in her muscles it was a good day.

Almost a week after they got back, Nick Valentine returned to Diamond City.

"Don't be a stranger, kid," he said to Beca as she walked him to the edge of Sanctuary.

"I won't," she said, hugging him when they stopped. "Thank you for everything, Nick."

"Anytime," he said. "I'll keep an ear out for any news of Chloe for you."

"Thanks," Beca said, feeling the familiar pang in her stomach at the sound of her name.

"You'll see her again," he said, reading her mind.

"Yeah, maybe," Beca said, knowing she probably never would.

A few days after he left, a radiation storm rolled through Sanctuary.

A murky orange cloud blew through their small settlement, forcing them all to barricade themselves into the most secure room they had, but even that wasn't very protective. Beca's Pip-Boy crackled like a Geiger counter, and they all spent the day feeling sick, and taking RadX.

It was the first time since they'd been apart that Beca was glad Chloe wasn't there.

"How long is this storm supposed to last?" Fat Amy asked after a few hours.

"No idea," Aubrey replied. "No more than 24 hours I think."

"We need to make a proper shelter for this kind of thing," Beca said, rubbing her head. "Something underground maybe."

"You hate being underground," Aubrey said.

"I do," Beca said. "But I hate this more. It's dumb just sitting here and getting sick when we could be somewhere safer."

"Okay," Aubrey said. "When this is over, we'll start making plans for it."

"The sooner this storm's over the better," Fat Amy said. "I'm a free-range pony, ya know? I can't be hemmed in."

The others laughed.

Beca was glad they were all with her.

She was glad she had them.

* * *

Across the Commonwealth, Chloe and Emily were in the supply room, counting everything they had.

Jesse liked them to regularly check their supplies, so he wouldn't ever run out without realising.

Chloe and Emily volunteered for it that day.

"So, have you ever been outside?" Chloe asked as they removed all the purified water from the shelves in order to count it. "I mean, apart from when you were a baby."

"I guess I must have," Emily said. "But I can't remember it."

"Nothing?"

"I don't think so," she said.

"And you've never been curious what it's like?" Chloe asked, counting the cans in groups of twenty before Emily replaced them on the shelf. "You've never even wanted to go and look?"

"I've looked," Emily said. "Guards come and go a lot, and sometimes I'd walk up to the entrance with them, just to see what it was like."

"And you never wanted to go out? Even for a day?"

"Not really," Emily said. "Jesse told me how dangerous it is out there. Michael was killed out there. And half of the time a group of guards go out to get food and water and stuff, only a few of them come back. Look, I know why you're asking me all this."

"You do?" Chloe asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You wanna go back to that Beca girl," she said. "Were you, like, in love with her or something? Because it's totally cool if you were, I'm just curious."

"I think I was... Or am..." Chloe said, after a few seconds. "But that's not why I'm asking. I mean, I'd like to be with her, but you're my priority. I'm asking because I'm afraid you're going to spend your whole life down here. It's such a big world out there, and I'd like for you to at least see some of it."

"I'm happy here, Mom," she said. "And my life will be a lot longer if I stay down here."

Chloe sighed. "Okay then," she said, trying to smile. "If that's what you want."

"Yeah," she said. "It is. I'm not saying I never want to go outside ever. But for now, I'm happy."

They carried on counting supplies in almost silence.

After almost two weeks in the hideout, she was starting to feel claustrophobic. She missed the feel of the wind on her face. She missed watching the sun set and rise, and the colours in the sky.

There wasn't much colour down here. Just different kinds of greys.

But most of all she missed Beca.

She had a lot of free time these days, and she spent them thinking about the brunette. She imagined how it would have been if Emily had wanted to leave and they'd left together. She imagined sharing a bed with Beca. Waking up next to her and sharing early morning kisses. She day-dreamed about going off for supplies with her. About helping repair the houses in Sanctuary. About watching Beca and Emily bond and the three of them becoming a family.

She longed for something to keep her busy so she wouldn't have time to day dream about these things, because it was killing her.

But there was nothing for her to do down here. So when she wasn't getting to know her daughter, she was thinking.

God, she missed her so much.

Jesse popped his head into the room once they were almost done.

"Just a heads up guys, you might here some loud noises later, but don't worry about it," he said.

"How come?" Emily asked.

"You know the blocked tunnel right at the very end of the main track?" He asked. Emily nodded. "Well the guys think they can shift the rocks with a little bit of dynamite."

"Why do you want to clear the tunnel?" Chloe asked.

"Because there could be supplies in there. People may have been trapped on the other side of the before it collapsed, and they might have food or weapons or anything," he said.

"And you're sure dynamite won't just bring the whole thing crashing down?" Chloe asked.

"I'm sure," he said, an edge creeping to his voice. "Look, just don't worry about it, okay? I was just letting you guys know."

"Okay," Emily said, missing the annoyance in his voice. "Thanks Jess."

A few hours later, the explosions started.

Chloe swore she could feel the whole world shake beneath and above her. It felt like she was going to be buried alive.

She sat on her bed, gripping her hands together tightly, wishing more than anything she could just be outside.

"It'll be okay, Mom," Emily said, sitting beside her and taking her hand. "They'll be done soon."

"You're not afraid?" Chloe asked, clenching her jaw together as another explosion sounded. "God," she muttered, through gritted teeth. "How much do they need to use?"

"What's to be afraid of?" Emily asked. "The tunnel is miles away, and the dynamite isn't very powerful. They can probably only clear small bits at a time."

Chloe looked at her, amazed that her daughter who was so afraid of even stepping outside, could be so calm and logical about this.

"Jesse won't let anything happen to us," Emily said. "Don't worry."

But Chloe did worry.

And she was right to.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Guess who has two thumbs and is going to beg for reviews again? THIS GUY!**

 **Here's the latest chapter, please please please keep reviewing :)**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Eventually the explosions stopped. They must have cleared enough of the rubble in order to make it down the tunnel.

Chloe was relieved the shaking had stopped, but she was still tense. She hadn't realised before how trapped they were down here. If something went wrong, they couldn't exactly run away.

It wasn't long after that the shouting started, in the tunnels nearest them.

Shouting gave way to gunfire.

In between shots and screams she could hear something else. Something... shrieking.

"Mom?" Emily asked, fear evident in her voice. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Chloe said, trying to sound calm.

Then they heard the footsteps of people running. They were getting closer and closer to the room she shared with Emily.

Suddenly, the door was wrenched open, and a blood splattered guard was standing there, out of breath with a gun in his hand.

"Come on," he said, gesturing for them to follow us. "We have to go-"

He was cut off as a feral ghoul slammed into him, sinking its teeth into his neck.

Emily screamed before Chloe could stop her, and the ghoul's head snapped towards them before it shrieked and lunged at them.

Chloe pushed Emily out of the way and braced herself as it swiped at her, slamming it's hand into the side of her head.

She heard two shots and it fell on top of her. She pushed it off and stood up, panting. Jesse was in the doorway, his gun still pointed at the ghoul.

People were running down the corridor behind him, desperate to get away.

"We need to go now," he said. Sweat covered his forehead and he was pale and shaking, but his voice had no fear in it.

"Mom I can't-"

"Yes you can," Chloe said, turning to face her. "If you don't, we'll die." Her voice was stern and left no room for arguing. "You can do this," she said, a little softer.

She reached down and pulled the gun from the dead guard's hand.

"Stay close to me," she said to Emily, echoing the words Beca had once said to her.

"Come on," Jesse said, urgently.

They moved down the corridor, Jesse taking the lead with Chloe at the back. Emily was sandwiched between them.

They soon came across more bodies, both guards and ghouls, and Chloe wasted no time in picking up whatever ammo and weapons they had. She thrust a gun into Emily's hand.

"Just point and shoot," she said. "Go for their legs if you aren't close enough for a head shot."

"But I've never-"

"There's a first time for everything, Em," Jesse said. "Listen to your mom."

Jesse lead them through the rabbit warren of corridors and tunnels until they were almost at the stairs out.

The normally heavily guarded door had been flung open. Daylight streamed down the bottom of the stairs.

Emily stopped in the entrance way, between the stairs and the room they'd just come through.

"What happened to the others?" She said, looking back through where they'd came.

"They either got out, or they didn't," he said. Emily looked at him, tears shining in her eyes.

"What about Benji? What about-"

"Em, we need to leave now, okay?" He said, his voice strained now. "Benji didn't... He didn't know how to shoot. I tried but..."

"We need to go," Chloe said. She could hear the sound of the ghouls getting louder. She had met Benji a few times while she'd been down here. She had liked him. Emily had really liked him. "I know you're scared," she said to Emily. "But we don't have time to wait. I need you to be strong for me, okay?"

Emily nodded and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Chloe put a hand on her back and started leading her up the stairs.

The ghouls had made it to the entrance way and were close behind them. Chloe felt a hand close around her ankle and pull.

She slammed into the stairs and she felt herself getting pulled down them.

"Mom!"

"Run!" She shouted up and Emily and Jesse, as she tried to kick the ghoul that was holding her. Her foot made contact with a head but it still didn't let go.

More and more ghouls were pouring through the door, so many that they began getting stuck.

Chloe fired blindly, and managed to shoot the one holding her. She only manged to scramble up two or three steps before she was grabbed again.

Her gun was knocked out of her hand.

* * *

Back in Sanctuary, Beca and Aubrey were arguing.

"You are not going out there!" Aubrey shouted, as Beca began loading ammunition into her guns.

"Aubrey," Beca said, trying to keep her voice calm, "there is a Deathclaw twenty minutes from our settlement. If that thing gets near us, everything will be destroyed and we'll probably be killed."

"Then we can call the Minutemen!" Aubrey said.

Around half an hour ago, a person from a near by settlement had come running into Sanctuary, warning them that a Deathclaw was headed in this direction.

"With what radio?" Beca asked. Their radio had been damaged by the radiation storm and Fat Amy was currently trying to repair it.

"We have the flare gun," Aubrey said. Beca didn't reply. "We do have the flare gun, right Beca?"

"I gave it to Chloe," she said. "In case she ever wanted to come back."

Aubrey pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Right," she said. "Well then we'll wait for Amy to fix the tower and then we'll call."

"We don't have time to wait," she said.

"Beca, why does it have to be you who goes?" Aubrey said, feeling desperate now.

Beca didn't answer.

"You're being reckless. I know you miss Chloe, but that doesn't mean you should just throw your life away trying to fight a fucking Deathclaw," Aubrey said.

"I'm not throwing my life away," she walked over to her power armor. "I'm trying to save all of yours."

"Beca," Aubrey said, with tears in her eyes. "That thing will kill you."

Beca hugged her, before she climbed into the power armor.

"Stay safe," Beca said. "If you see it coming... Just run." Dogmeat ran up to her, his tail wagging. "Not this time boy," she said. "This time you have to stay behind." Dogmeat cocked his head.

As she walked away from them, she wished she'd taken a second to say goodbye to everyone.

She was under no illusions.

This thing would probably kill her.

* * *

"Mom!" Emily screamed again, as she fired wildly into the mass of ghouls. Jesse began shooting too.

Chloe tried to shield her face as the ghouls on top of her died.

She felt two pairs of hands pull her out of the pile.

"Go, go, go!" Jesse said pushing them up the stairs.

Eventually, they reached the top, and they threw themselves through the door. Jesse slammed it behind them.

Chloe lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Her ankle was swollen and everything hurt, but she was beyond relieved they'd made it.

"Did they bite you?" Jesse asked, standing over her. Chloe shook her head and made herself sit up.

"They hit me a few times but no bites," she said, checking herself over.

"Good," he said, finally putting his gun away. He took off his backpack, and removed a stimpak from it. "I managed to get some supplies before I came to get you," he said. He handed it to her and she stuck it in her arm, grateful as the pain began to recede.

She could still hear the ghouls throwing themselves at the door, but there was no way they'd be able to break through.

She looked over at Emily, who was yet to say a word.

She was standing, holding onto the side of the station, looking up at the sky.

"It's so big," she said finally. "How can it be so big?"

Chloe pulled herself to her feet and limped over to her daughter.

She removed the fare gun from her holster, and fired it into the sky.

Emily gasped as they were suddenly bathed in red light.

"What are you doing?" Jesse asked, rushing over to them.

"Signaling to the Minutemen that we need help," she said. "They'll need to know there's an infestation of ghouls, and Beca said they'd take us to Sanctuary."

"Why would we go there?" He asked. "It's a two day walk out in the wasteland."

"Do we have anywhere else to go?" She replied, turning to face him. He was looking afraid again now that the adrenaline had worn off.

"I want to go there," Emily said. For the first time she didn't sound afraid.

Jesse accepted defeat and he sat down, his back against the wall.

"What happened down there?" Chloe asked him as they waited for the Minutemen.

"Turns out that tunnel was blocked off for a reason," he said. "All that dynamite must have woken them up. Hundreds of them. All those people died because I wanted to know what was in that tunnel."

"It isn't your fault," Emily said.

"Then who's fault is it?"

They didn't speak for a while as they waited.

All Chloe could think about was that in a few days, she would see Beca again.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: So we're on the home stretch! Only a few chapters left, I think. This one is getting posted a little earlier than usual because I've got a busy few days ahead.**

 **Please keep reviewing. It keeps me going :)**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Beca opened her eyes and tried to make sense of where she was and what had happened. Her ears were ringing and the screen in her helmet that displayed the same information as the Pip-Boy was flashing red. It told her parts of her power armor were damaged, and that she was hurt.

She shook her head slightly and tried to remember what had happened.

She'd seen the Deathclaw and felt a rush of fear.

The creature was truly terrifying. It looked like it had come directly from hell, with its scales, horns, teeth and claws.

She raised her gun and fired relentlessly, hitting it in the head every time, but the Deathclaw barely reacted. It was as if it had been stung by a bee. All Beca had done was draw it's attention.

It had given a heart-stopping roar, before it swung its arm and hit her, sending her flying and crashing into the side of a rocky hill.

She got unsteadily to her feet and pulled out her Fat Man, which fired mini nukes.

The Deathclaw's attention was back on her.

Her heart was pounding as she steadied her aim.

As it opened its mouth to roar, she fired, launching a mini nuke directly into it.

It clearly did a lot of damage, as the Deathclaw started thrashing and screaming, but it didn't die.

"Motherfucker," Beca cursed, desperately trying to reload the Fat Man.

She raised her weapon again, just as the Deathclaw took another swipe at her.

She dropped to the ground and rolled, missing its massive clawed hand.

It was getting angrier. She was like a bug it couldn't crush.

She aimed again but hesitated before she fired.

She was too close to it. If the mini nuke made contact with the Deathclaw while she was this close, the explosion would probably kill her. She knew the suit would absorb most of the heat and the resulting shock-wave, but it would definitely throw her into the air.

But if she didn't fire, the Deathclaw would probably kill her anyway. And then it would make its way to Sanctuary, and kill her friends. Her family.

Beca had to make a decision.

She thought of Chloe and Aubrey as she fired her weapon.

As soon as she squeezed the trigger, she dropped the Fat Man and turned away in order to run.

She hadn't even taken a step before she heard the dying cry of the Deathclaw as the explosion sent her flying through the air.

The force of it caused her head to slam into the inside of her helmet, as her body hit a tree and crashed to the Earth.

* * *

Aubrey had not stopped pacing for a single second while Beca had been gone.

She cursed herself again and again for not going after her.

She forgot sometimes, they all did, that Beca was so young. Even as she'd watched her walk away in her power armor, she had thought deep down that Beca would return. She kept watching the horizon, waiting for her to come back. Bruised and battered but alive and probably dragging a Deathclaw hand with her. When she'd take her helmet off, she'd be smiling. Aubrey would hit her in the arm and chastise her for almost getting herself killed. But then she'd smile, and they'd hug, and they'd carry on like they always did.

That's what was supposed to happen.

But it had been almost three hours and Beca wasn't back yet, and the sounds of explosions had died away a long time ago.

She should be back by now.

"Aubrey, she'll be fine," Stacie said, trying to calm her down.

"Why didn't I follow her?" Aubrey asked.

"Because she would have been furious with you," Stacie replied. "You know how she is. She's tough, 'Bree. She can handle a Deathclaw."

"She's eighteen fucking years old Stacie," Aubrey said, her cursing catching Stacie off guard. "She's practically a kid, and I let her go and fight a Deathclaw alone? I can't wait here anymore. I'm going to find her."

Dogmeat, who had been whimpering since Beca left, jumped to his feet.

"Come on boy," she said. "Let's go get her, yeah?"

Dogmeat barked in response, and they started walking.

"I'm coming too," Stacie said, close behind.

"Me too," Fat Amy said, catching up.

It didn't take them long to find her.

Dogmeat ran ahead and started barking loudly. Aubrey broke into a run to catch up to the dog, the others were right behind her.

It was then she saw the immense figure of the Deathclaw and she ground to a halt.

"Holy shit," Amy said softly.

It was dead. It's giant body covered a ridiculous amount of space. There were broken trees beneath it that it had taken down when it fell. Had it fallen in Sanctuary, it would have easily taken out their main house and workshop.

Dogmeat started barking again, a little further away from the Deathclaw.

"Beca?" Aubrey said, catching sight of what Dogmeat was barking at. "Beca!"

She was still in her power armor, face down in a crumpled heap on the ground. Parts of it were broken beyond repair, scattered around, and the back had been scorched black from the explosion.

Aubrey couldn't see what was inside the armor, but she kept calling Beca's name as she scrambled over to her. The others still close behind.

Dogmeat was pacing around her, whimpering in distress.

Aubrey dropped to her knees beside her, and had to restrain herself from quickly pulling off the helmet. Instead she slowly turned her over and carefully removed her helmet.

Blood had coated the side of her face. It was trickling from her nose, a cut on her lip and a deep one on her forehead.

"God, please tell me she's still alive?" Aubrey said, as Stacie crouched down at her other side and checked her pulse with a shaking hand. She let out an audible sigh of relief as she felt it.

"She's alive," Stacie said.

Luckily the armor had protected Beca from the heat of the explosion, but the force of it combined with hitting the tree had knocked her unconscious.

"We have to get her back," Aubrey said.

"We can't move her yet," Stacie said, removing what was left of the right arm of her power armor so she could check her Pip-Boy. "She could have broken her back or anything."

"She can't stay here," Aubrey said.

"I know that," Stacie replied, examining the Pip-Boy which gave Stacie an idea of what Beca's injuries were. "Amy?" She said, looking up at the third girl in the party. Fat Amy had been unusually quiet as she looked down at her injured friend.

"Yeah?" Amy replied.

"I need you to take the hands off that Deathclaw."

"What?" Amy and Aubrey asked together.

"They're worth a lot. Like, loads and loads of caps. We're already low on medical supplies, and we're going to need all we have and more to help Beca."

"Okay," Amy said, taking a machete from her belt and approaching the Deathclaw.

"Can you tell what's wrong with her?" Aubrey asked, wiping some of the blood from Beca's face.

"Massive concussion," Stacie said, reading through the Pip-Boy. "She's broken her left arm, and severely bruised her ribs. And she's probably sprained everything else, but the Pip-Boy doesn't show that. God, if she hadn't been wearing this power armor she'd be dead for sure."

"What do we do now?" Aubrey asked, her voice quiet.

"Take off her armor and get her home. We can't carry her while she's wearing it, but we'll have to move her slowly so we don't damage anything else," Stacie said. "She's going to need a proper doctor, Aubrey."

"Do we have time to wait for one?" Aubrey asked as they began carefully removing the power armor once piece at a time.

"I can give her stimpaks, stitch her head and bandage her ribs but I can't set bones," Stacie said.

"When we get her back, I'll radio out for one," Aubrey said.

Fat Amy had rejoined them, dragging the Deathclaw's hands behind her. She was planning on wearing the power armor so she could carry Beca easily but there wasn't a single functioning part.

"Help me with her," Stacie said, bending down to pick Beca up. Aubrey helped lift her. "Careful."

"Can you hold her?" Aubrey asked, picking up what was left of the power armor.

"Yeah," Stacie said, looking down at her friend. "I've got her."

* * *

After around half an hour of waiting, the Minutemen arrived to escort Chloe, Emily and Jesse to sanctuary.

Half of them had stayed behind in order to clear the hideout of feral ghouls.

Jesse was severely tempted to stay with them.

"Once it's clear I'll be able to move back in there," he said, as they began walking away.

"That'll be nice," Chloe said, shaking her head. "Just you and the corpses with no one there to protect you once you get raided."

Jesse scowled slightly. "It was my home for over 15 years," he said. "I'm sorry I'm not that eager to leave it."

"There's nothing for us down there," Emily said, quietly. She had barely said a word since they began walking. Her eyes were darting around her constantly, trying to take in everything that was going on around her. _How can it be so big?_ she thought. It felt like everything was too much for her. The sounds, the smells, the colours, even the feeling of the wind, was overwhelming. "We'll be safe at this new place, right mom?"

"Right," Chloe said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"How safe can it be?" Jesse asked. All the bravery he had shown against the feral ghouls was disappearing rapidly. He looked even more afraid than Emily did. "It's not even underground."

Chloe sighed before moving closer to him. "Look Jesse," she said, in a low voice. "You saved mine and my daughter's life back there. For that, I'll be forever grateful. But if you don't cool it, and stop freaking Emily out, I'll take you to the nearest raider hideout and leave you there. Understand?" He nodded, still scowling.

The rest of the journey to Sanctuary was mostly uneventful, apart from the two nights they'd spent sleeping in whatever abandoned building they could find. During those nights Emily had been terrified. She'd clung to Chloe's arm and didn't sleep for a second. She jumped at every noise and every shadow.

By the time they reached Sanctuary, two full days after the ghoul attack, both Chloe and Emily were exhausted, but relieved. The few Minutemen who had escorted them this far, left them within sight of the first set of turrets that guarded the settlement.

Chloe lead the way into Sanctuary, Emily still clutching her arm, Jesse following close behind, looking dubiously at their surroundings.

When they reached the main area, Chloe's eyes scanned the area, desperate to see Beca. She thought she'd find her in the workshop. The power armor was there, or bits of it were, but no Beca.

"Chloe?" A voice called from beside the radio tower. "It is Chloe right?" A tall brunette approached them. She looked vaguely familiar.

"Yeah," Chloe said.

"I don't know if we met last time," she said, "I'm Stacie. What are you doing here?"

"Beca said we could come if we needed to," she said, still looking around for her. Her heart had begun to beat uncomfortably. There was an odd atmosphere around the settlement that hadn't been there the last time. "This is my daughter Emily. And this is Jesse." Chloe told her about the ghouls and having to leave their hideout. "Where is Beca?"

Stacie looked down. "She, um... She got... Hurt," Stacie said.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Well my crazy busy four-day weekend is finally over and I managed to finish this before going back to work tomorrow :)**

 **Please review. Reviews make me happy. Please make me happy :P**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters**

* * *

Chloe swallowed hard, and she felt her stomach sink.

"Hurt? How?"

"There was a Deathclaw," Stacie said. "She insisted on going off to fight it alone. And... And she killed it. She-"

" _She_ killed a Deathclaw?!" Jesse interrupted. "By herself? How?"

"With a Fat Man we think. We found what was left of it next to the Deathclaw," Stacie said.

"What was left of it?" Chloe was feeling sick.

"The Fat Man launches mini-nukes," Stacie said. "It's incredibly powerful, but it should only really be used as a long range weapon. It looks like Beca was too close when she fired. We found her about twenty feet away from the Deathclaw, but the actual weapon was right beside it. The back of her power-armor was all black, so it looks like she tried to turn away but got blasted into the air. When we found her, her armor was all broken and she was..." Stacie swallowed, trying to hold back her tears. "She was really hurt. She still hasn't woken up."

"How long has it been?" Chloe asked.

"Two days," Stacie replied. "We had a doctor set her broken arm and check her over properly, but he said there's nothing we can do but wait and see if she wakes up."

"Can I see her?" Chloe asked, her voice breaking.

Stacie nodded. "This way," she said.

Chloe felt Emily put a hand on her back.

"I'm sorry mom," she said. "Jesse and I can wait outside."

Chloe nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"I'll get Amy to sort out some rooms for you," Stacie said as they walked towards the main house.

"Emily and I can share," Chloe said.

"Okay," Stacie said, before explaining the situation to Fat Amy.

"Come on guys," Amy said, trying to sound like her usual upbeat self. She wasn't quite pulling it off.

Chloe watched as her daughter walked away from her, and she felt an urge to run after her. Emily was in a new place, in the outside world, for the first time in 15 years. She should have been freaking out. But Emily turned and nodded encouragement, so Chloe turned away and followed Stacie into Beca's room.

The tiny brunette was lying on her bed, pale and beat-up. Her face was bruised and her head and lip were cut. Beneath her shirt, Chloe could see that her ribs had been bandaged, and her left arm was in a cast. She looked thinner than the last time she'd seen her.

Aubrey was sitting beside her bed, holding her hand. She had tear tracks running down her face.

She looked up when Chloe entered the room and couldn't hide the surprise that spread across her face.

"Chloe?! What are you doing here?!"

Chloe opened her mouth but couldn't respond. She just stared down at the girl she was in love with, as tears filled her eyes.

"Let's give her a minute, yeah 'Bree? I'll explain outside," Stacie said.

Aubrey looked like she wanted to argue, but agreed to leave the room.

When Chloe sat down in the chair, Dogmeat stood up from where he'd been lying and rested his head on her thigh.

"Hey boy," she said softly, scratching him behind the ear.

With her other hand she took Beca's, and brushed her thumb across her slightly bruised knuckles.

"I missed you so much," Chloe said, her voice hardly more than a whisper. "But I'm here now, with Emily. And if you'll have us, we won't be leaving. So why don't you wake up and we can finish that kiss? Please?"

Beca didn't stir.

"Beca," she said, crying a little harder. "Please. Please just do something. Squeeze my hand. Anything."

But Beca didn't. She just continued to lie there, oblivious to the sobbing redhead clutching her hand.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been there when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Mom?" Emily said. Chloe jumped slightly. "Sorry," she said. Chloe shook her head.

"It's fine," she said, finally letting go of Beca's hand so she could wipe her eyes. She hadn't noticed the room grow steadily darker, but she now realised it was night. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, glancing at Beca before looking back at Chloe. "Um, it's getting late. We should probably get some rest." Emily didn't say it, but Chloe could tell she was afraid. She didn't want to sleep in that room without her mom.

Chloe hesitated, looking back at Beca. She didn't want to leave her.

"I'll sit with her," Aubrey said from the doorway.

"Okay," Chloe said, getting up from the chair, "thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Aubrey said. "She's my best friend."

Chloe nodded. She got the feeling Aubrey didn't like her very much, but she didn't say anything. She just bent down and kissed Beca on the forehead. "I'll be back soon," she whispered to the brunette. "Come on then," she said to Emily.

"Chloe," Aubrey said, placing a hand on her arm before she left the room. "Could I speak to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure," Chloe said. "I'll be there in a second Em." Emily looked between the two women before leaving. "What's up?"

"Beca is like my sister," she said. "And I love her like a sister. I probably care about her more than I care about anyone else in the world."

"Yeah, I care about her too-"

"I've only seen her broken twice," Aubrey said, as if there had been no interruption. "Once," she held up a finger, "when she first came here, after her mom had died. The second time was when she came back here without you."

Chloe looked down, feeling guilty. "I had to stay for my daughter," she said, in a quiet voice.

"I know that," Aubrey said. "And no one blames you for not coming back with her. She understood, and so did we. But that doesn't mean she wasn't hurting. Chloe, she loves you. She really, really loves you. But I need to know if... When... When she wakes up... Are you going to break her heart again?"

"No," Chloe said, without hesitation. There was a fierce look of determination in her eyes when she stared at Aubrey. "I love her. I'm crazy about her. The only person in the world I love more than Beca, is my daughter."

Aubrey nodded. "And if Emily wants to leave, will you leave with her?"

Chloe opened her mouth but then closed it. She hadn't considered this.

"If you think there's a chance that you could end up hurting Beca again, deliberately or not, maybe you should go before she wakes up," Aubrey said.

"Aubrey, she's my daughter... I can't just force her to live somewhere forever if she doesn't want to. Beca understands that," Chloe said. "She understands that my daughter comes first."

"I know," Aubrey said. "And I understand that too. I just want you to think about it." She sat down on the chair beside Beca, and picked up her hand, turning her back on Chloe.

"If you care so much," Chloe said, her voice breaking, "why did you let her fight a Deathclaw alone?"

Aubrey's shoulders sank.

"You're right," she said. "I shouldn't have let her go. I tried to stop her, but I could have tried harder. I should have tried harder. And I'm not going to make that mistake again. I'm not going to let her get hurt again."

She heart Chloe leave. Her angry footsteps dying away.

She hated herself for having to say these things to her. She knew they loved each other, that much was obvious. She knew the moment Beca had returned, and could barely say her name without crying. She knew Chloe reciprocated when she saw the look on her face as she sat at Beca's bedside. But she had to protect her friend. Her sister.

She swept a strand of hair out of Beca's face. She knew that a lot of people assumed there was something romantic between them, but that had never been the case. Aubrey didn't see Beca that way, and she knew the feeling was mutual.

She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.

"Don't you think you were a bit harsh on her?" Stacie asked.

"Maybe," Aubrey admitted, closing her eyes as Stacie stated to massage them. "But she was heartbroken. I can't let that happen to her again."

"Maybe we should let Beca decide that," Stacie said. "It should be up to her who she gets her heart broken by."

"I'm trying to protect her," Aubrey said. She opened her eyes to look at the beaten and broken girl lying in front of her. "I couldn't protect her before, but I can from this."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Stacie said, kneeling down so she was eye level with Aubrey. "If you had of followed her to fight that Deathclaw, she would have been furious with you. If you'd gotten hurt, she'd never have forgiven herself."

Aubrey wiped the tears from her eyes. "I should have done something. I should have stopped her."

"'Bree, I don't know what your plan is here, but if Beca finds out you sent Chloe away, she'll never forgive you," Stacie said, placing her hands on the blonde's shoulders and looking into her eyes. "This has to be Beca's decision."

"What if she doesn't wake up?"

"She will," Stacie said, sounding more confident than she felt.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: So this is probably the second to last chapter!**

 **Please keep up the reviews!**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of their characters**

* * *

When Chloe got back to her room that night, Emily was perched on the bed, waiting for her.

"You okay?" Chloe asked her, wiping her eyes subtly.

"Yeah. Are you?" Emily asked.

"I... I guess," she said, sitting on the bed beside her. "I'm scared for Beca."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Um... I'm sorry," she said, her eyes downcast.

"Why are you sorry?" Chloe asked.

"It's my fault, all of this," she said. "If I hadn't been so scared to come here, then you and Beca could have stayed together. And that blonde woman wouldn't want you to leave."

"Hey," Chloe said softly, "this isn't your fault. Even if we had come back with her, she still would have gone off to fight that Deathclaw. You shouldn't blame yourself for being afraid, it was only natural. And don't feel like we have to stay here. If you don't like it then... Then we can go someplace else."

"Mom, I'm not making you leave. You love her. And I'm not going to split you guys up again. It'll take time to adjust to being above ground, but I'm happy to stay here," Emily said.

Chloe managed to hold back a sob as she turned to hug her daughter.

"I love you so much," Chloe said as Emily hugged her back.

"I love you too, Mom," Emily replied.

Once Chloe had fallen asleep, Emily crept out of the room. She moved down the hallway, briefly looking in on Jesse. He was lying asleep in his bed, his hand resting lightly on his gun. She knew he was going to find it tough here. _He'll just have to learn to adapt_ , she thought, as she carried on towards Beca's room.

Inside, the blonde was still sitting in the chair beside Beca's bed, only now she was asleep. Emily didn't want to wake her, but she had to speak to her now, while her Mom was sleeping.

She cleared her throat and Aubrey woke with a start.

"Sorry to wake you," Emily said, coming further into the room, "but I needed to talk to you about something."

"Okay," Aubrey said, stifling a yawn. "But I'm sure it could have waited until morning."

"Um, actually no, it couldn't," Emily said, sounding braver than she felt. "I wanted to talk to you about my Mom. It's not her fault she couldn't come back with Beca. It was mine. I asked her to stay. She wanted me to come here with them, but I was too afraid."

"I know-"

"So I want you to stop being mean to her," Emily said, ignoring Aubrey's interruption. "Because it's not her fault, she was just being a good Mom. She wants to be here with Beca. And I want her to be happy, so I want to be here too. I want you to be nicer to her. Because she's just as afraid as you are. You both love Beca. You both want what's best for her, so you should be on the same team."

Aubrey didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"I never meant to be mean to your Mom," Aubrey said, softly. "I'm just trying to protect my friend. But you're right. And if you're serious about wanting to stay here, then I should make you feel as welcome as Beca would. I'm sorry, Emily."

"Oh, um, thank you," Emily said, clearly expecting more of a resistance.

"You're a good kid," she said, giving her a rare smile. "Go back to bed before Chloe wonders where you are."

"Are you going to stay here all night?" Emily asked, hovering at the doorway.

Aubrey nodded. "I want to be here in case she wakes up."

"I hope she does soon," Emily said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Aubrey said, trying to get back into a moderately comfortable position so she could get a few more hours sleep.

* * *

The first time Beca woke up, it was for less than a minute.

She felt sharp pain in her arm, ribs and head, and when she opened her eyes everything was blurry. The room was dark and she could just make out the shape of someone sitting beside her. She felt the pressure of someone holding her hand. The pain was almost unbearable, and she felt almost relieved as she was pulled back down into the comfortable darkness.

The second time she woke up, it was for slightly longer, but not by much. This time she kept her eyes closed, but she could tell it was daylight. Someone was still holding her hand, but the pain was much less.

She could hear a muffled conversation, but couldn't make out who was speaking, or what was being said. It was like she was underwater.

She tried to remember what had happened, but she was gone again before she could form a coherent thought.

* * *

The day after they'd arrived, Chloe was sitting on the porch outside of the main house. She was watching Fat Amy and Emily build a new water pump.

Jesse was being shown how to harvest their crops, but he didn't seem as happy with his job as Emily did with hers.

Chloe badly wanted to go and sit with Beca, at least for a little bit, but she had spent most of yesterday in there, and she didn't want Emily to feel like she'd been abandoned.

So she sat and watched her daughter with a small smile on her face.

Emily, who should have been freaking out, was grinning broadly as she worked. She seemed to have a real knack for it, and she got on well with Fat Amy, who kept making her laugh. Every so often she would look up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the sun. She looked like she would never get sick of gazing upwards, looking at the vastness of the sky, watching the colours blend and shift.

Chloe was so relieved that Emily was happy and comfortable here.

She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard Dogmeat barking from inside the house.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and turned to look. Stacie dropped what she was holding and ran immediately into the house.

It took a few seconds for Chloe to realise that the barking must have been coming from Beca's room. Dogmeat hadn't left Beca's side since she was brought back.

She got to her feet quickly and headed for the room, her stomach churning with nerves.

She got there and saw Aubrey in the chair and Stacie standing beside her, blocking her view of Beca.

"I'm fine," she heard a tired, hoarse voice say. "Dogmeat, I'm fine, boy."

Chloe felt like she was going to cry right there and then at the sound of her voice.

"What... What happened?" Beca asked, trying to remember. Her thoughts were all scattered around in her head, and she had no idea what was going on.

"You got hurt fighting that Deathclaw," Aubrey said, her voice a mixture of relief and anger. "Goddammit Beca, you scared the shit out of me."

Beca laughed before she looked up and caught a glimpse of red hair between Stacie and Aubrey. "Chloe?" She asked.

Aubrey and Stacie looked behind them to see her standing there, tears shining in her blue eyes, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"I'm still dreaming," Beca said, shaking her head. "Goddammit I thought I was awake."

"You are awake," Aubrey said. "She came back."

Beca looked up at Chloe again. Aubrey and Stacie moved out of the way so Beca could see her properly.

"Are you real?" She asked, her voice breaking. Chloe nodded and took a step forward. "You came back?"

"I came back," Chloe said. She sat down in the chair that Aubrey had vacated. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Beca said.

Chloe reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, her fingers lightly touching the cut on Beca's head.

Beca closed her eyes at the contact, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I can't believe you're here," she whispered softly.

"I'm so glad I am. I should have been here all along," Chloe replied, leaning in and kissing her.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: First off, I am so so so so so so so sorry it took this long to get the final chapter out. I'm still not really happy with it to be honest, but I just wanted to get something out. I've had some bad writer's block with this, and my mental health game has been all over the place.**

 **Anyway, here it is, the last chapter. Like I said, I'm not really happy with it, but I think it ends the story well enough.**

 **Please review! It's probably the last time I'll beg for reviews for a while, so make the most of this :P**

 **I do not own Pitch Perfect or Fallout or any of their characters.**

* * *

Around a week, Chloe woke up to find her room empty. She was still sharing a room with Emily while Beca recovered, but right now Emily's bed was empty and neatly made.

Chloe changed her clothes and left her room, walking down the hallway. She could hear light snores coming from other rooms, but when she popped her head into Beca's, she saw that that room was empty too.

Then she heard a quiet conversation coming from the porch of the house.

"Okay, so tighten that bolt," she heard Beca saying.

"Like this?" Emily replied.

"Yeah. Keep going until you can't tighten it anymore," Beca said.

Chloe came outside to find Beca and Emily working on the power armor. Beca was holding herself up on a crutch while telling Emily what to do next.

"You got it," Beca said. "You're a natural."

"Thanks," Emily said, laughing.

Chloe couldn't help but smile at the sight of her girlfriend and daughter bonding.

Beca had woken up that morning, stiff and in pain like she usually was. It was difficult to get into a comfortable position with a broken arm, bruised ribs and a sprained ankle, so it was hard getting to sleep, and even harder staying asleep. She'd woke herself up that morning by rolling over onto her arm.

Also, since learning that they'd had to sell the Deathclaw hands and meat to pay for Beca's doctor and to replenish their medical supplies, she'd stopped using Stimpaks. She knew they'd need them if someone else got injured, which was a common thing in the wasteland, and she didn't want to use them all up.

So that morning when she'd woken up, she got up and headed to the workshop so she could get a drink and some food.

She saw Emily sitting on the edge of the porch, watching the sunrise. Dogmeat was beside her. He'd really taken to her over the past few days.

"Can't sleep?" Beca asked, grabbing some water and sitting beside her.

Emily shook her head, still looking at the sky. "For the first 15 years of my life, I never saw a sunrise," she said. "I don't want to miss another one."

"Yeah," Beca said looking out at the sky too, "they're pretty neat."

They sat and watched, making light conversation, until Emily mentioned that she'd like to learn how the power armor worked, and how to upgrade weapons.

"Well what a coincidence," Beca had said, smiling, "my power armor got wrecked by a Deathclaw, and I can't really repair it with this thing on my arm. You wanna help me?"

And that was how Beca and Emily had spend their morning, until Chloe came out.

"Morning," Chloe said, walking over to the pair.

"Hey," Beca said, grinning when she saw her. She kissed her on the cheek, and Chloe carefully put an arm around her shoulder.

"How do you feel?" Chloe asked.

"Great," Beca said, still smiling. "Okay, Em, you wanna take off these two bolts here."

"These ones?" Emily asked, pointing.

"Yeah," Beca said. "This plate here needs to come off and get replaced. That stupid Deathclaw destroyed it." She watched as Emily followed her instructions. "Awesome. Okay, I gotta sit down for a bit."

Chloe helped her sit down on the edge of the porch before sitting beside her. Emily at her other side.

Beca winces slightly when she sat down and her hand went to her ribs.

"I wish you would just take something," Chloe said, shooting her a worried look. Beca shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said.

"You're so stubborn," Chloe said, kissing her on the side of the head. "It's infuriating." She stood up and began making them some breakfast.

Beca couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. She hadn't gotten used to being Chloe's girlfriend yet, but she couldn't deny that she was enjoying it. The redhead was always holding her hand, or playing with her hair, or giving her some other kind of affection. It was new for Beca, but she loved it.

"So, installing water pumps and fixing power armor. We're definitely working you hard, huh?" Beca asked Emily as they waited for Chloe.

"Yeah," Emily said, smiling as she gazed upwards. "I like it though. Don't get me wrong, my arms are aching and my hands feel like they might fall off, but I don't mind. It feels good to be doing something."

"I know what you mean," Beca said. "It's a nice ache."

They heard someone scoff from behind them. Beca turned around to see Jesse standing by the workbench, taking a can of water out of the supply crate.

"Something to say?" Beca asked.

"Look, I'm really happy that you all seem to love manual labor so much, but it's just not for me, okay?" He said.

He had been struggling since he'd arrived, Emily had seen it. He was used to being in charge of a large group of men and women, hiding in his underground bunker. Now he was suddenly above ground and having to follow instructions for the first time in fifteen years. Emily would have felt sorry for him, but she thought if she could adapt, why couldn't he? He was much older after all.

"I don't know what to tell you," Beca said, trying not to snap at him. "We all pitch in here. We share the work load, and we share the rewards."

"What rewards?" He grumbled.

"That water you're drinking for a start," Aubrey said, joining them on the porch. He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

Beca had to remind herself that he had saved Chloe and Emily's lives, and she bit back her response.

"If you don't like manual labor we can find other jobs for you," Aubrey said, joining Chloe at the cooking pot so she could help her with breakfast.

"What kind of jobs?" He asked.

"There's the radio tower for a start," Aubrey said. "The loudspeaker on it's broken, so we need someone to basically sit by it and listen. You wouldn't have to do it all day, just a few hours at a time."

"Well that sounds exciting," Jesse said, finishing his water.

"Dude, why are you being such an ass?" Emily asked, annoyed at how her friend was behaving. "They've taken us into their home, shared their food and water, and are just asking that we help them out in return."

Jesse softened slightly, and looked almost embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just... I'm not adapting as well as you are." He looked at Aubrey. "I am sorry. And if you want me to do the radio, I can do that."

"Thank you," Aubrey said.

After they'd all eaten, Fat Amy took Jesse over to the radio tower and explained how it worked.

"Basically," she said, "you just need to listen for people calling to Sanctuary. If someone does, you just respond and ask what they want. A lot of the time it'll just be the Minutemen asking to spend a night or two here while they're making their way someplace else. But sometimes it's news of an immediate danger to us. Like when we got the call about the Deathclaw. If it is something like that, ring this bell, and we'll come to you and you can explain. Make sense?"

"Yeah," Jesse said, taking a seat beside the radio.

"Great," Amy said, leaving him to it.

During his first few hours, Jesse didn't get a single message. It wasn't exciting work, but he preferred it to the others he'd done so far.

It wasn't long after, however, that Jesse was ringing the bell, a slight look of panic on his face.

"What is it?" Aubrey asked once they'd all made it over to him.

"Um, there was a call from a near-by settlement. I... I forget their name... They said a group of raiders are heading our way. They'd stolen from the other settlement and even killed some of them. They were overheard saying they were coming here next," he said. The look of fear on his face reminded Beca of the small boy she had seen in Chloe's memory.

"Hey," Beca said, "it's okay dude. This kind of thing happens sometimes. We can deal with it." She sounded braver than she felt, mostly for Chloe and Emily's benefit. She still got a jolt of fear and anger whenever raiders were mentioned.

"Okay," Aubrey said. "Cynthia Rose, Fat Amy, Jessica and Ashley, you'll come with me, and we'll ambush them before they even get close. We'll set a few proximity mines, and then pick off whoever's left. Standard procedure girls, we've done this before we can do it again. Stacie I need you here prepping medical supplies in case someone gets hurt." Stacie nodded.

"What about me?" Beca asked.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that Beca," Aubrey said, glaring at her.

"I can come," Emily said.

"No," Beca and Chloe replied at once.

"I can shoot!" Emily protested. "I want to help."

"Absolutely not," Chloe said.

"Mom-"

"Listen kiddo, fighting raiders is different than fighting ghouls. These guys can think and plan and shoot back," Beca said. "It's too dangerous."

"But-"

"Once all this is done, and once I get this cast off my arm, I'll take you and your mom out hunting, okay? You can practice your shooting then. I promise you, you don't want to go up against raiders," Beca said, in a voice that left no room for argument.

"Okay," Emily said.

"Chloe, I want you here with Beca, okay? She can't shoot so good with her right arm, and Stacie will be busy sorting out supplies," Aubrey said.

Chloe nodded, and Aubrey began handing out other jobs.

"What about me?" Jesse asked when she'd stopped talking. "I can shoot, I should come with you."

Aubrey looked at him for a second.

"Okay," she said. "If you're sure."

The ones leaving were ready to go within 30 minutes.

"Don't get hurt," Beca said to Aubrey, before hugging her. Pain shot through her arm and ribs but she didn't care.

"You're one to talk," Aubrey said.

"Be careful," Emily said to Jesse, as she hugged him too.

It was a tense few hours waiting at Sanctuary.

Beca had tried to pace back and forward behind their line of turrets, but she soon tired and had to sit down, her ribs aching.

Emily was helping Stacie prepare so she could keep herself distracted. She was afraid that instead of their friends returning, an army of raiders would come tearing through their home.

Chloe was just trying to keep Beca calm.

The small brunette wasn't used to staying behind while her friends went off to fight.

"Becs, they'll be okay. You said it yourself, this kind of thing has happened before," Chloe said, gently running a hand up and down Beca's back.

"I should be with them," Beca said. "I don't stay behind. I've never stayed behind."

"Beca," Chloe said, her voice a little firmer. "You almost died fighting a Deathclaw. I think you've earned a pass on this one. I know you want to help protect your friends, but maybe don't be so quick to run into danger. Who would help me protect Emily if something happened to you?"

"The others would," Beca said, as if it was obvious. "They'd look after you both."

Chloe shook her head before she kissed Beca.

"It's you I want," she said softly, pressing their foreheads together. "I love you. Please, don't be so eager to die. I need you, and so does Emily."

Beca was quiet for a minute. She lifted her right hand to cup Chloe's face. She brushed her thumb across her cheek and swept away a tear.

"Okay," she said, kissing her back.

They were still wrapped in each others arms when their friends returned, triumphant.

A bullet had grazed Aubrey's hip and Cynthia Rose had taken a hit from an aluminum bat, but apart from that, there were no other injuries.

"How was it?" Emily asked Jesse as Stacie was checking him over.

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head slightly. "It was scary. But I also felt more alive than I have done in years. I think... Em, I think I'm going to join up with the Minutemen."

* * *

 _ **One Year Later**_

"Okay, ready Em?" Beca asked as she fastened the leather armor around her step-daughter's shoulder.

"Yeah," Emily said, excited.

"Chlo'? Ready?"

"Ready," Chloe replied, loading her gun.

"Okay then," Beca said, picking up her own gun and her trusty baseball bat. "Let's go shoot some bad guys."

A mixture of fear and pride swirled inside Beca as she watched Emily pull the strap of her rifle over her shoulder, before picking up a lazer-pistol and tucking it into the holster attached to her hip.

Both she and Chloe had agreed that training her to shoot and fight had been a necessity, but that didn't mean they liked it.

They wished they could live in a world where they didn't have to teach her how to fight. How to shoot. How to kill.

But they did. And like everything else she turned her had to, Emily was good at it. She didn't enjoy killing. But she could fight, and she could shoot, and she could do it well.

Beca turned to look at Chloe again.

She was still in love. If anything, she was more in love. And the way Chloe looked at her, she knew she loved her too.

They both dreamed of peace in the future.

Chloe had glimpsed it once, hundreds of years ago. And she hoped she might live to see it again.

But she knew that after peace, there was always war.

And war never changes.

 _ **The End**_


End file.
